‘No one is looking at The Warra and saying that is the race I want to win this spring, except me’

Kembla Grange trainer Mitchell Beer believes Sunrise has a couple of advantages on her rivals heading into The Warra on Saturday.

The first is the $300,000 sprint is on her home track, and second, and more importantly, she is the only horse to be set for The Warra for the past six months.

“No one is looking at The Warra and saying that is the race I want to win this spring, except me with Sunrise,” Beer said.

“When she ran a good race in a Listed race at the Scone carnival in May, I said to the owners, ‘The Warra isn’t going to be any tougher than that race’.”

“We put her away with the idea of winning The Warra, so Saturday is a long time in the planning.”

Beer paid $45,000 for Sunrise at the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale in 2024 and set about making her into a racehorse.

His instincts proved correct and after spending his first preparation with her trying to get her to relax, Sunrise found her form.

She led all the way in a Kembla Class 1 in March before winning a Midway Handicap at the end of the carnival at Randwick on April 26.

She sat outside the leader in the Denise Joy Stakes at Scone and was brave only beaten three-quarters of a length by Summer Flame in fast time.

“She has got better this preparation,” Beer said.

He has designed Sunrise’s program to mirror the autumn campaign and she was able to win again at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day second-up.

That win scored Beer a spot on Channel Seven’s breakfast show, Sunrise, because of his flying mare’s name.

“Hopefully a few of them will come down to Kembla on Saturday to cheer her on,” Beer said. “It was great to get that opportunity on a show like that.”

Beer hopes Sunrise can get through to black type level, but if she can win on Saturday, it would rate up with the stable’s biggest wins.

“She gets into the race with no weight and will give us something to cheer for a long way,” Beer said.

“It is Kembla’s biggest day of the year, and being a trainer here to win one of the features would be a dream come true.”

“We have got a tent for the day and it will be at the 300m mark, so hopefully she will get a lift when she goes past that in front.”