Co-trainer Emma-Lee Browne is confident that Rollout The Carpet can produce an improved performance when she contests the 2014 Lord Mayor’s Cup at Doomben tomorrow.
Rollout The Carpet finished a distant 11th behind Dances On Stars in her Australian racing debut in the Prime Minister's Cup. Photo by: Daniel Costello
Rollout The Carpet arrived in Australia after finishing a narrow third behind Albany Reunion in the Group 1 Easter Handicap (1600m) at Ellerslie on April 12, but struggled during the lengthy trip to Brisbane and failed to fire in his Australian racing debut in the Listed Prime Minister’s Cup (1300m) at the Gold Coast on May 3.
Browne admitted that Rollout The Carpet had taken while to recover from the trip to Australia and probably should not have run in the Prime Minister’s Cup, but has been impressed with the trackwork of the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor in the lead-up to the Lord Mayor’s Cup this weekend.
“David (Browne) came over and rode and he was very happy,” Browne told the New Zealand Racing Desk.
“He rides her all the time at home so it was nice to have him up and for him to give us that reassurance.
“Most of the reason for her first-up miss was the flight, with it taking so long and we were tossing up whether to start her but the race fitted in with timing.
“Then it rained and she took a couple of days to recover so I’m quite happy to write it off as just a day out and now she’s thriving.”
Browne is confident that Rollout The Carpet will be competitive in the Lord Mayor’s Cup and revealed that the four-year-old will be on audition for a potential start at Group 1 level in the Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 21.
“Hopefully she’ll be right in it,” Browne said.
“Otherwise we might look at where we are going and it might be the end of her preparation, but we’re a lot happier with her this time and we’re expecting her to be right there.
“We’ll just assess how she goes and she could drop back in distance for the Winter Stakes (Tattersall’s Tiara), but we’ll decide once we see how she goes.”
Rollout The Carpet is currently available at 2014 Lord Mayor’s Cup odds of $12; with Darley mare Wistful ($4) a narrow favourite from New Zealand Group 1 winner Historian ($4.40), Gerald Ryan-trained Angel Of Mercy ($5) and Scone Cup winner Cameo ($6.50).
