Racing: Dr Green looking for a tonic

Waikato trainer Brian Jenkins hasn't given up on Dr Green, even if bookmakers have.

The two-year-old colt lines up in the A$300,000 Todman Stakes at Rosehill in Sydney tomorrow, after running last in the Skyline Stakes at Canterbury last Saturday night.

The last run, in which he scorched to the front from an outside draw and then compounded over the final 200m, saw his odds balloon out to $101 for the A$3 million Golden Slipper at Rosehill in two weeks time.

Jenkins said there was a good reason for the failure at Canterbury.

"He was upset the other night," Jenkins told NZPA yesterday.

"The float company let us down and he didn't get a space and a half on the truck. He got worked up going to the races and we probably had no chance of settling him anywhere that night."

Before the float incident, Jenkins had been confident of Dr Green going to the front and settling, so tractable had he been in his pre-race warm-ups at his current home base at Rosehill.

Jenkins pondered taking him to Illawarra for the Illawarra Classic next Wednesday, but the Todman Stakes drew only five other runners for such a big stake and it has a transport advantage.

"We just have to walk him across the road to get there," Jenkins said.

With his first decent draw on his Australian campaign, Dr Green will be asked by jockey Rhys McLeod to settle behind the lead and get some cover.

It's a change of tactics by Jenkins and carries the risk that the horse will still refuse to settle, but he said everything Dr Green has done at Rosehill suggests he will settle.

His main concern is that it is only a week since his last run.

"For a two year-old especially, I'm not a fan of running them that close, but he's given me every indication he should be able to take it. He's eating well and feeling good in himself."

Jenkins acknowledges the opposition is strong, with Domesday and Flying Pegasus, who both beat Dr Green home in the Silver Slipper Stakes three weeks ago, in the field.

"If he gets a bit of cover, I think he will settle and do all right.

"I just hope they all don't jump and wait for him to lead; it could be a very slowly run race if they do."

If Dr Green runs in the placings, Jenkins said he will probably persevere with his Golden Slipper bid.

Two of New Zealand's classiest horses, albeit Australian-trained these days, line up in other races on the Rosehill card.

Vouvray, trained in Victoria by Peter Moody, is one of five acceptors for the group one $400,000 Ranvet Stakes, while Falkirk is in the group two $140,000 Royale Corporate Stakes.

Vouvray is expected to provide Grand Armee with the most opposition in the Ranvet, while Falkirk has been impressing in trackwork at Randwick for trainer John O'Shea this week and will be one of the favourites in his race.

Grahame Begg has made a key gear change to Our Egyptian Raine ahead of the Coolmore Classic with the mare to wear blinkers for the first time in her quest to win an elusive Australian group one race.

A winner at the highest level in New Zealand, Our Egyptian Raine has become a group one bridesmaid in Australia finishing runner-up six times in elite company and in several of those going down by less than a neck.

With the broodmare barn beckoning for the six-year-old at the end of this season her connections are keen to break the drought at Rosehill and Begg's timely move could be the masterstroke.

"I've been waiting to put blinkers on her for some time but I didn't get the opportunity last preparation because she was going up in distance so I've just been waiting for the right race," Begg said.

Our Egyptian Raine has bumped into Grand Armee and Court's In Session at all three runs back this campaign and hasn't been disgraced.

She split the pair first-up in the Expressway Stakes when second to Court's In Session before consecutive fourths to Grand Armee in the Apollo (1400m) and Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m).

The 1500 metre feature will be the first time Our Egyptian Raine hasn't battled the males since she lumped 58.5kg in the group three Tristarc Stakes at Caulfield.

She will carry a kilo less than that but history will be against her with only three - Emancipation, Bounding Away and Sunline (twice) - shouldering 57.5kg or more to success.

- NZPA