There were times last week that Mitch Freedman wondered whether he’d made the right call passing up a Group 1 opportunity with his star sprinter Skybird.
But the $2 million Manikato Stakes, which was under consideration as a second-up run for Skybird, did not end up being run on the Soft track that looked likely midway through the week, which helped Jimmysstar blow his rivals away.
In hindsight, Freedman was glad he spared Skybird a stoush with that established star and is excited about unleashing her in this Saturday’s $300,000 Group 2 Gilgai Stakes at Flemington, which looks certain to be run on a wet track with heavy rain predicted on Thursday and Friday.
“We were disappointed when the rain was coming last week and thought it might have been a wet track, but as it turned out they raced on a good track and the rail was out a long way,” Freedman said.
“She’s going to get in there with a nice weight on Saturday and we like the set-up of going back to Flemington with her.”
The Gilgai Stakes, in which Skybird will carry the 55kg limit weight, will be her first time back at Flemington since her career-defining win, on a Soft 7 track, in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) in February last year.
“Injury, circumstance and a number of different things,” Freedman said when asked she hadn’t been back to Flemington since.
“But we’re looking forward to getting her back there. The 1200 is probably at the upper end of her preferred trip, but if she gets the right sort of run she’ll run it out strongly.”
Skybird hits the Gilgai Stakes second-up out of the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m), when she raced closer to the speed than customary and boxed on to finish sixth, 3-1/4 lengths off My Gladiola, and Freedman liked what he saw from her in an 850m Ararat jumpout win last Thursday.
“She was getting a bit gross on me at home and I couldn’t do too much more with her, so we just wanted to give her a stimulating piece of work and a trip away from home and it seems to have done the job,” he said.
Skybird is early favourite for the Gilgai Stakes, which also features Oakleigh Plate runner-up Hedged, Perth visitor Smooth Chino and last year’s winner War Machine.
