Speaker 1Cherie Curtis is my next guest on Racing HQ with Modela going around on Saturday in Sydney. Morning, Cherie. Good morning, guys.
Speaker 2How are you?
Speaker 1Yeah, very, very good. How's your Thursday morning gone so far?
Speaker 2Good, good. Pretty happy. Very excited going into Saturday.
Speaker 1You love this man. She's a stable star, Modela. She was so fantastic at Wong and the Mona Lisa. And how about that ride from Zach Lloyd?
Speaker 2Oh, it was a ripper, wasn't it?
Speaker 1It's a beauty.
Speaker 2Oh, just, yeah. He just sees things quicker than, you know, when a sportsman's in form. And, like, if they're playing cricket or whatever it is, they see the ball faster, you know what I mean? It's the same with riders, I'm sure of it. And he just sees the gaps and his brain's working faster when he's riding in super form.
Speaker 1So we go to a Golden Pendant, a Group 2, on Saturday at Rose Hill. How are we feeling going into it? Apart from the general just excitement of having this mare, you know, at this Group 2 level, which you've been to before, mind you, but she looks like she's come back in better shape, this prep.
Speaker 2I think so. She's matured. She's more seasoned and ready for this. She's always shown really good ability and hence why we've put her in these sorts of races before. And she's competed in this grade. This prep, yeah, I just think she's just taken another step. She is very well going. Going into the race, she's worked well. She's a very happy horse. Very happy with the three weeks between runs, going into a second up run. Yeah, so obviously I'm excited, but I'm pretty confident she'll race very well.
Speaker 1She's not a huge mare. So does she take much work at home to get her up and firing or can you sort of be a little bit easier on her?
Speaker 2She's just normal, just a standard sort of horse. She's by Castle Vecchio and she's sort of got that done deal line where, they can get a little bit warm, particularly after a run. So it's balancing her, you know, just making sure that she's happy but not overtaxing her in her work as well.
Speaker 1And you'll no doubt talk tactics with Zac over the next sort of 24, 48 hours. But where do you sort of see her to in that run? Does she get a long way back like she was at Wong? Or do you think you can, you know, I guess you want to keep your cards close to your chest. But can Zac, are you going to give Zac sort of full reign?
Speaker 2Well, we always, he's such a good rider and like I said, he is informed. So it'll be up to him ultimately. He'll just, you know, the instructions will be you go out there and judge it as you will. I would love to see her a pair or two closer, like somewhere midfield. I think that's where she wants to race. But we just keep drawing really poor barriers. And so when you're drawing wide, you either have to take your medicine and go back or just suck it up and beat wide. So she's drawn six of nine. She still can't draw the inside of a nine-horse field. But, you know, like the important thing is that she's got cover. If she can be a pair closer, it is a small field. So I don't know how genuine the race is going to be run. I'll have to go have a look at the speed maps and that sort of stuff today and tomorrow. But, yeah, I'd like her a pair closer if it's possible.
Speaker 1How's Sumac going?
Speaker 2She's good. She's good. Tough to decipher that run. I thought her run was. OK, it was pretty good in the T-Rows on Saturday. I thought the track was maybe a little bit on pace biased and those run-on horses weren't sort of getting their full chance. We're just going to go. We'll probably go back in grade. We may not go to the flight. Not 100% sure what we're doing there yet.
Speaker 1OK. And what about just generally with the stable? And we're chatting with Cherie Curtis. You've gone to this real sort of boutique number with your stable when you're down. You're downsized and you want to really sort of focus on some of these, you know, good horses you've got coming through. What's happening with that horse that's now listed as spelling Bohemia?
Speaker 2Bohemia. So, Bohemia trialed in almost a couple of weeks ago and she injured herself in the trial. Oh, bugger. No, it's very, very sad. So, she's quite OK, but we are at a stage of the season where it's breeding season right now. So, if she'd done the injury in November, then she'd definitely come back to racing. She's done it in September. So, it is likely that she will be served by, I think, Cooks are talking, maybe Pinatubo. And then, depending on if she goes in fall and that sort of stuff, you know, the decision will be made on her future. So, I would say it's quite possible we've seen the end of her racing, unfortunately.
Speaker 1OK. That is a. That is a shame. Cherie, if Modella is to get the Group 2, when was the last time you won a Group 2 at Rose Hill?
Speaker 2I don't know. It was a while ago. It was when Lee was training on his own.
Speaker 1So, you're going to bring some magic luck back to it? A hundred percent. With the name and the book, I like it. It would be special to get a group win on your home track and then who knows where she can go. So, where is she going to go, Modella, after Saturday?
Speaker 2I'd like an invitation. I think that's a perfect race for her. That's in four weeks. She would need another run in between, most likely, unless we gave her a tick over trial. So, there is a possibility of an Alan Brown. She's in the nominations for the Epsom, but it's probably. We'll just take it run by run. And then, if we don't get an invitation, you know, there's the Empire Stakes County in Melbourne, in Flemington. I thought, you know, Flemington would be a nice track for a big straight. So, there's lots and lots of options, but I think the invitation is the main goal at the moment.
Speaker 1I hope she runs extremely well for you on the weekend. Great to chat with you, Cherie. Thank you.
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