Like many in the racing community, Trent Edmonds will feel the absence of the old Moonee Valley track, but he is not concerned about the timing of its redevelopment.
This Saturday, the Moonee Valley Racing Club will hold its inaugural Cox Plate meeting away from its traditional home. Edmonds, however, will be present at Flemington with Extragalactic, the star mare from his Pakenham stable.
The talented four-year-old mare is slated to compete in the $300,000 Group 2 McEwen Stakes over 1200 metres.
This will mark her third start this preparation, with each prior run being in a race typically held at Moonee Valley.
Her sole previous appearance at the tight Moonee Ponds circuit was during the farewell Cox Plate Day meeting last year. On that occasion, she finished ninth out of twelve runners in the Listed Crockett Stakes, also over 1200 metres.
“She’s a different horse from 12 months ago, but the day that she ran at The Valley in the Crockett on Cox Plate day last year, she didn’t quite get around it that well,” Edmonds stated.
“So I’m not complaining about the about the races not being there this year.
“I’m sure once it’s reconfigured and we’re back there, she’ll race there at some stage, but she’s going to butter up at Flemington on Saturday and she’s in good form.”
The Crockett Stakes is one of only two occasions where Extragalactic has not finished in the placings from her nine career starts. The other was her fourth-place finish in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Sandown when commencing her current campaign.
Her most recent outing saw her secure second place behind Jimmysstar in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.
Edmonds is pleased that the McEwen Stakes is scheduled for Flemington, as it provides Extragalactic with an opportunity to experience the straight track and potentially audition for more significant races at the same venue.
“It is an audition for possibly the Champions Sprint, or even the Lightning or Newmarket in the autumn.
“I wanted to give her a look down there for the future basically.
“It’ll be interesting, we’re obviously hopeful she’ll handle it, but there’s only one way we’re going to find out.
“Not that it’s dead straight, but she’s done a lot of work up the back at the turf club here (Pakenham) on what we call the rise track, which is like a dog leg and then straight for sort of 900 metres.
“We’ve done a little bit of work with her up there since the Manikato, she gets up there well, and I’m very happy with her.”
Extragalactic is among 14 nominations for the McEwen Stakes, with notable rivals including Jigsaw, Splash Back, Mazu, Rey Magnerio, and Smooth Chino.
Punters can get involved with the McEwen Stakes by exploring the latest racing odds at Australian betting sites.