Trainer Belinda Blanch admits she can’t quite pinpoint why Lingani performs so well on wet tracks, but she’s not about to question it.
Instead, she’s embracing the mare’s affinity for give in the ground and is excited for her to race on it again this Saturday at Flemington.
Lingani is set to compete in the $175,000 Listed Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final over 1200 metres. The five-year-old is expected to be in her preferred conditions, as Flemington was rated a Soft 7 on Wednesday morning, with further rain predicted for Victoria leading up to raceday.
“When it’s raining at home, she literally stands in her yard with her ears pricked,” Blanch revealed.
“It’s really interesting with her, because she’s quite a big horse with a big, long stride.”
“Traditionally, you’d go, ‘I don’t know if they’ll handle it’, but she just loves it.”
Remarkably, six of Lingani’s seven career victories have been achieved on rain-affected surfaces, with four of those on heavy ground.
These four wins represent her only starts on heavy tracks, the most recent being a victory over 1250 metres in a benchmark 84 at Morphettville on June 6.
This was her first outing since a second-place finish to Naifah in the Group 3 Proud Miss Stakes on May 9. This Stakes-grade performance was her best since winning the Listed Lightning Stakes two years prior, and Blanch feels the time is right to challenge her in Melbourne again.
Her sole previous interstate campaign involved a start in last year’s Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes at Caulfield, where she finished second-last on a Soft 6 track.
“She’s at the point now with her ratings that she’s limited with races over here,” Blanch stated.
“So if it’s going to be wetter somewhere else, then that’s where we’ll go, and a race like this was always going to be the plan for her.”
Lingani has drawn barrier two for the nine-horse field on Saturday and will be guided by jockey Kayla Crowther, carrying 55kg.
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