Racing: Star mare Entriviere in doubt for Randwick

Entriviere won five of six starts last season in New Zealand. Photo / Trish Dunell

A mystery accident seconds after a brilliant track gallop may force Entriviere out of her comeback race at Randwick tomorrow.

The mare rated potentially the fastest thoroughbred in New Zealand is down to start in the A$160,000 Toy Show tomorrow, a 1200m Group 3 seemingly ideal to launch a campaign aimed at Sydney's newest feature, the A$2 million Invitation on October 23.

With James McDonald confirmed to ride and Entriviere luckless when a huge second in a similar Randwick race in April, she opened the $3.50 favourite even after drawing the outside barrier in the 16-horse field.

All was going well until Entriviere returned to the stabling area after her track gallop yesterday morning slightly lame in one hoof.

"She galloped really well and James was thrilled with her," trainer Jamie Richards told the Herald.

"But it looks like she has done something to herself on the way back to the stables, maybe even something as simple as standing on a stone.

"If wasn't bad but we notified the stewards straight away so they and punters knew what was going on and the team over there are applying a poultice to the hoof.

"She could be totally fine by [this] morning and be good to go or sometimes these type of things can hang around for a few days and that would obviously affect her starting on Saturday."

Richards says while any setback is hardly ideal, if Entriviere had to have her banana skin moment during this campaign it is better now than later as she hones in on the Invitation which looks a race almost handcrafted for her.

"At least this isn't her grand final but before this happened James was confident she could win even from her wide draw."

Richards had already notified Racing NSW stewards of the stable's intention to have Entriviere ridden with cover if she does start, which is how she has looked most explosive in New Zealand where she won five of six starts last season.

Her setback yesterday leaves Richards waiting on two fronts today — Entriviere's progress and the Government announcement on when most regions of the country will return to level 3, at which racing can resume.

"We only have one horse at Cambridge on Saturday but like everybody we would love to see racing go ahead if and when the Government says it is safe to do so," says Richards.

While McDonald will also have to wait to find out whether he will be on Entriviere under race conditions tomorrow the champion expat jockey has a confirmed date with his favourite race mare in Verry Elleegant, who resumes in tomorrow's A$500,000 Winx Stakes.

The wonderful mare started her career here before crossing the Tasman after just three starts but she is still part-owned in New Zealand and is hot favourite to be crowned last season's Australian Horse of the Year in October.

The weight-for-age 1400m of tomorrow's Winx Stakes is clearly short of her best for the Caulfield Cup winner but McDonald is thrilled with how she has worked and trialled. She is a short $2.90 favourite though considering the size and depth of the field that also features other Kiwi-bred stars headlined by Kolding and Mo'unga.

The Randwick track was rated a good4 yesterday with the rail back in the true position as the countdown to the real riches of spring goes up a notch.

●Last season's leading New Zealand juvenile Sword Of State faces some Aussie big guns in his first outing on Australian soil today.

Sword Of State will contest an 850m trial at Randwick and meets not only Golden Slipper winner Stay Inside but one of Australia's most promising sprinters in Lost And Running, the New Zealand-bred five-year-old already invited to The Everest.

"He is really well and this trial will give us a good indication of where he stands heading into next week," says Sword Of State's trainer Richards.