Wealth Princess has a tough job to make the Stradbroke Handicap field, but Waikato trainer Brent Gillovic has an easier group one target in reserve.
After a shock loss in her first Australian run two weeks ago, Wealth Princess stamped her authority on the Queensland scene with a dominant win
in the group three A$125,000 Glenlogan Park Stakes (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Gillovic wasn't downhearted at the defeat at Caloundra, blaming it on a "bog" track and said he was confident she would turn things around.
"When she galloped on Tuesday, I thought that was winning work if ever I saw it," he said yesterday.
Wealth Princess' odds for the A$1 million Stradbroke (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 12 trimmed in to $7 on the New Zealand TAB with the win, but she will be lucky to make the field.
"She is currently 91st in the ballot order and even if she gets a rehandicap for yesterday's win, we may not make the field.
The big problem is the way the balloting conditions for the Stradbroke are based, with the difference between weight-for-age and the weight allotted taken into account.
"You try to get your horse in with a low weight, but that ballot clause makes it topsy-turvy," said Gillovic.
Wealth Princess has 51kg in the Stradbroke at this stage.
Gillovic is to discuss the matter with new owner Sean Buckley, but said his current plan was to run Wealth Princess in the Dane Ripper Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 5, with the group one Winter Stakes (1400m) for fillies and mares on June 26 another target.
- NZPA
