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Spanish Love has stamped herself as a mare on the rise with back-to-back city wins and is well-placed to continue her march through the grades at Moonee Valley.
The daughter of High Chaparral represents one half of a strong Moonee Valley representation today for trainer Mark Kavanagh as he saddles up favourites in the first two races.
The meeting has been pushed back three hours because of expected hot conditions in Melbourne and will start at 4.35pm (AEDT), with the last race at 8.30pm.
Last-start runaway Kyneton maiden winner Wild Rain is a clear-cut favourite in the Slickpix Handicap (1000m) for fillies before Spanish Love steps out in the LF Sign Group Handicap (2040m) attempting to add to recent wins at Moonee Valley and Flemington.
Spanish Love stepped up to 1600m for the first time at Moonee Valley last month in a fillies and mares maiden and sprinted quickly when a gap appeared to put her rivals away by 2 lengths.
Kavanagh backed the mare up at Flemington eight days later in a benchmark race against her own sex and she won again, chasing down Native Land.
"She has trained on nicely and she looks better suited kept to the mares' grade on Saturday although she is up in class a bit," Kavanagh said.
"Both her wins have come as soon as she got to a half-suitable distance at a mile. She always raced at too short a distance but she wasn't ready to go any further at that point because she was a bit highly strung.
"She's a winner at the track and it looks as though 2000 metres is going to suit her better." After over-racing in blinkers for the first time at Moonee Valley, two starts back Wild Rain had the gear removed and she proved a class above in an 1100-metre maiden at Kyneton on December 22, scooting along to score by eight lengths.
"She has trained on well and her sectionals were excellent at Kyneton," Kavanagh said.
Kavanagh said Wild Rain appeared best kept to sprint trips, ruling out the possibility of the Magic Millions Guineas on Saturday week.
Trainer Trevor Miller has long been a dominant force in Sunshine Coast racing but he will be hoping to maintain his excellent strike-rate at another beachside racetrack today. Miller has Real Good engaged in the First National Two-Year-Old Handicap (1200m) at the Gold Coast.
At his only start, Real Good was an excellent second to one of the Magic Millions favourites in Saga Of The Storm at Doomben two weeks ago.
The gelding needs to win or run second today to make the Magic Millions field.
"I have been struggling a bit for the past two years and I was even thinking of giving it away until I got a couple of 2-year-olds this year," Miller said. "Real Good is going to live up to his name and hopefully it will be on Saturday."
Miller has had only one Magic Millions Classic runner in Big Tony who led the field for home in 2009 before finishing midfield . He has trained about 800 winners at the Sunshine Coast during a 30-year career.AAP