Star New Zealand mare Orchestral’s exhibition gallop at Tauranga on Saturday confirmed she would take her place in Saturday’s Gr.1 Toorak Handicap at Caulfield.
Her co-trainer Roger James said if she had a good couple of days she would be on the plane on Wednesday heading to Australia.
The dual Group 1-winning mare looked strong in her gallop in the clockwise direction.
“I’m very happy. That was a sign we are right on the button for where we want to be,” James told NZ Trackside.
The James and Robert Wellwood-trained four-year-old mare has won six of her 11 starts including the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby and the Gr.1 Vinery Stakes earlier this year.
James said Orchestral had improved since her first-up eighth behind Shamus over 1400m at Ellerslie on September 21.
He said the run was enormous as she was asked to do a bit for her level of fitness.
“When you sum everything up it was a pretty good performance,” James said.
New Zealand stewards noted she was slowly away and queried her rider Craig Grylls about the performance.
Grylls told them he was on the backfoot after Orchestral was slowly away and he had to urge her along during the early and middle stages of the race. He said she peaked on her run with her big weight of 60.5 kg, and he was satisfied with her effort under the circumstances.
James said Orchestral had a really good 10-11 days after the run and had come on well. He has stated that Orchestral won’t be overtaxed during the spring.
Orchestral is $15 with Sportsbet for the Toorak Handicap.
