
Matthew Smith is focusing on one race at a time with his three-year-old filly, Idle Flyer, who has emerged as the odds-on favourite for the Precise Air benchmark 68 (1400m) at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
After a victory in her last race in the benchmark 64 over 1250m at Randwick Kensington, the daughter of Dundeel will face an increased distance and tougher competition with just three rivals in the field as Smith continues to assess her potential.
“I’ve been happy with her,” Smith commented. “She’s shaping up like she might be able to compete in some better races than this, but we’ll just have to see how she goes tomorrow.”
Out of the Street Cry mare Progressive, Idle Flyer is bred to handle more ground, and Smith believes she will prove herself over longer distances sooner rather than later.
“She’s always looked like a mile would suit her, and we’ll try this preparation for sure. I don’t know what will happen after this race, because she’s eligible for that Inglis race down in Melbourne, so down the straight. We’ll just have to have a bit of a think about it after tomorrow,” Smith said.
“We’ll go up to a mile and see how she handles that and then, I’m not sure if she’ll go further, but a mile won’t be a problem, and then beyond that you never know, really until you try.”
“I’d like to get her in a couple of stakes races, those three-year-old fillies’ races, so she’s on the way, anyway.”
Having come from behind to win in a field of eight last time out, Idle Flyer now faces a new challenge in a four-horse field. She has drawn the widest barrier, with Zac Lloyd retaining the ride. Smith believes the filly is versatile enough to adapt to any tempo-related challenges.
“She’s got a good turn of foot, she showed that last start at Randwick, they didn’t go that quick, and she was able to run them down,” Smith said.
“1400 metres won’t be a problem for her. I think she should be hard to beat tomorrow.”
“There are a couple of other horses in there that go pretty good, so I don’t know, but everyone’s sort of looking to find out about where they’re up to. That’ll be a bit of a race to see how they’re travelling.”
Idle Flyer is a $1.85 favourite for the opening race on Wednesday and is also listed in the markets for the Australian Oaks as a long-priced $101 chance.