“I think the horse is going super, he just hasn’t had the best of luck in a few runs this preparation. But he’s certainly got the ability to be in these types of races. He doesn’t know how to run a bad race.”
King’s best chance on the day looks to be Alalcance ($3.60) in the listed Christmas Cup (2400m) for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
“It’s my first time raceday on her, but I have sat on her a few times at trackwork, and she’s a lovely mare,” she said. “She obviously came over from overseas, and she hasn’t put a foot wrong really so far, having two starts here for a first and a second, so she seems to have adapted well. I’m always confident riding for Gai and Adrian’s team anyway.”
In the $500,000 Inglis Nursery (1000m), King rides Portelli’s Sunrise Ridge ($81), which was fifth at Newcastle on debut.
“I haven’t ridden her, but I saw her run at Newcastle,” King said. “The 900m is always a very tricky distance and I think she’ll appreciate stepping out a little bit.
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“It’s always an open race every year with a lot of first-starters, but Gary is very shrewd with his two-year-olds. He wouldn’t be putting her in there if he didn’t think she could do something.”
In the other features at Randwick, King will partner Ballroom Bella ($21) for Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou in Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m).
“She’s run second in a group 2, so if she could bounce back to that kind of form, she should be right in a race like that,” she said.
Of her other rides, King said Bjorn Baker-trained Baby Rider in the sixth should improve third up.
“I think Baby Rider will run a lot better,” she said. “He hits his form when he gets up in distance. Maybe 1800 is still a little too short for him, but his work was super on Tuesday and I think he’s just starting to get there now. He might still be a run away, but I think we will see an improved performance.”