Everyone’s A Star has been something of a gift horse for Marc Chevalier’s stable and the trainer hopes his unassuming mare can continue flying the flag at Rosehill on Saturday.
Trainer Marc Chevalier (Pic: Bradley Photos)
The Hawkesbury trainer has had to put the house full sign up on his stable for now – that’s 17 horses at this stage – and he says it’s a direct result of Everyone’s A Star putting his name in lights over the past couple of months.
“She’s won four races this prep including three in town,’’ Chevalier said.
“Ever since she won the Midway (in April) I’ve had quite a few phone calls and have more horses come through the stable.
“Now I have the problem I haven’t had before and that’s trying to find room. I’ve been struggling for three years to find horses and now it’s the opposite.”
The four-year-old will be having her 12th start this campaign in the Midway Handicap (1100m) and while she’s lumped with the 60kg, Chevalier said barrier one offsets it to a degree.
He is wary of a forecast for some rain through the weekend after she failed to handle the ground at Scone in the final race of the two-day carnival and was beaten five lengths by Dollar Magic but she will have first use of the track.
“At Scone she just didn’t appreciate the track at all, after two days of racing and being the last race on the second day the track was a bit worn,’’ he said.
“They’d had a bit of rain on it and she didn’t let down on that track. We’re racing at 11am so the track will definitely be in better order this time.
“We were thinking should we stay around (Midway) grade with a bit of weight but she’s a big girl so I don’t think it would bother her too much and she’s finally got a good gate.
“She’s the soundest horse I’ve had anything to do with and that makes my job so much easier. She’s always in a happy mood, she’s eating well, and she’s an easy horse to train.
“Louis (Beuzelin) knows her well and it’s all looking promising.”
A new addition to Chevalier’s team is Morpheus Bragi, who was sent to him searching for some rain affected ground.
Formerly with Danny O’Brien, the gelding created a good impression with a head-bobbing defeat on a heavy track at Gosford on May 16.
Chevalier said he’ll assess the conditions, which were a soft 5 on Wednesday, before committing to a start in the Bisley Workwear Handicap (1100m).
“He’s a wet tracker and they couldn’t find a wet track in Melbourne so they moved the horse to me to race on a wet track,’’ he said.
“It was a good start for us, we’ll see what the weather does. He showed good qualities at Gosford and with a bit less weight he should be handy in that race.”
Evergreen stayer Torrens is set to return in the Listed $200,000 Lord Mayors Cup (2000m) as he gears up for the Winter Cup in two weeks.
The seven-year-old, who hasn’t raced since contesting the Group 3 Manion Cup in March, can be a bit on the hit and miss side but has placed in three of his past six starts.
“It’ll be a nice warm up race for him and the Winter Cup will be a perfect race for him,’’ he said.
“The 2000m might be a bit short for him. He’s a class horse on his day, you never know with him but he’s in a happy place at the moment.”
– Racing NSW
