Mud Factor Grips Surround

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday March 10, 2001

Craig Young

Think of today's Surround Stakes at Randwick as being like a good old-fashioned State of Origin league match played in the mud. Think of it as a Bledisloe Cup epic on an Eden Park bog, add some old city-country rugby league showdowns and the Sydney versus Melbourne argument and you've got the complete picture.

The fillies are about to steal Tie The Knot and co's thunder at headquarters today.

``There might be only nine fillies in the race but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know they are superb," said New Zealand coach Ross Taylor, who trains Star Satire, which arrived in Sydney this week.

He has no doubt she is ``the best 1,400m three-year-old in New Zealand".

``It is some race," Taylor said from New Zealand. ``They are all there, the Victorian filly Miss Kournikova to me looks sensational, you've got a Golden Slipper winner [Belle Du Jour] and Lady Mulan we saw that race the other day, she was impressive. And a friend of mine from over there [Australia] said Maitland Gold was a horse of promise."

Throw in Adelaide filly Wyndam Special and the Surround is some autumn carnival prelude.

Forget the Gai Waterhouse factor at your peril. Racing's ``first lady" is running On Type, a more than useful filly coming off a rousing first-up win.

But it's not the horse-power that worries Taylor, it's the weather and with it the state of the Randwick track. A heavy surface would be a concern.

``What's happening over there?" he asked. ``Took a horse to Australia to get a bloody dry track, get enough wet ones here."

Star Satire, like Miss Kournikova, arrives in our soaked city following a Group1 victory against the older horses.

Miss Kournikova, a winner in slow and dead going, thumped her rivals in the Oakleigh Plate.

Star Satire, which has had one start in dead going for a win, took the Trentham Stakes by a commanding three lengths.

That runaway victory secured the trip across the Tasman, and Taylor is keen on finding out just how good Star Satire is.

``It's a hell of task trying to get a line on the horses," Taylor said. ``Track conditions are going to play a huge part. On a firm track she [Star Satire] would be at her best."

One thing Taylor isn't certain about is Star Satire's health. Any concerns about a maiden plane flight causing problems have been erased.

``She has done so well, fed so well, that she had to do a bit of striding work yesterday morning," he said. ``That was never part of the program."

Belle Du Jour's recent workload hasn't been helped by weight. After returning from a failed Magic Million Trophy assignment in January, the Slipper winner was freshened up. She stepped out in the Light Fingers Stakes under 57.5kg and charged home to finish third behind a new-look power pack named Lady Mulan.

The return to set-weight racing today means Belle Du Jour meets Lady Mulan on better terms (4.5kg) for being beaten 2.75 lengths.

Not one of the nine fillies has been around in heavy going before, although Belle Du Jour has two wins and a third from five outings in dead going.

Lady Mulan's trainer, Bob Thomsen, has dismissed concerns about a heavy track, and a look at the filly's performances on rain-affected ground holds the key. Last winter in Queensland she chased home noted mudlark and dual Group1 winner Show A Heart on a slow track at Eagle Farm. She was beaten five lengths when finishing second but should have finished closer.

The fact Lady Mulan is meeting the likes of Belle Du Jour, Star Satire and Miss Kournikova, all winners at elite level, is the concern. But Lady Mulan toyed with her rivals in the Light Fingers when carrying 53kg and wasn't that far behind ill-fated wonder filly Unworldly last spring.

When she turned out at Randwick for the Light Fingers Lady Mulan looked like a filly that had matured into a threshing machine.

As for the country contender Maitland Gold, it's worth noting that, like Miss Kournikova, she is a winner in slow going.

They are the only two fillies in the Surround to have won in anything worse then dead. Whatever the outcome the Surround promises to be an intriguing affair. The type Lady Mulan will relish.

                        Best performance                Form over 1,400m
SYDNEY
Lady Mulan              Won G2 Light Fingers Stks       1; 0-0-0
Belle Du Jour            Won G1 Golden Slipper   2; 0-0-0
MELBOURNE
Miss Kournikova                 Won G1 Oakleigh Plate   0; 0-0-0
ADELAIDE
Wyndam Special                  2nd G2 Sandown Guineas  0; 0-0-0
NEW ZEALAND
Star Satire             Won G1 Trentham Stks    4; 3-0-0
GOSFORD
Maitland Gold           2nd G2 Light Fingers Stks       0; 0-0-0

© 2001 Sydney Morning Herald

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