Merinai fans will have to wait until Auckland Cup night to see the great mare back at the races. The Horse of the Year has fitted in well at new trainer Mark Purdon's stables but is still behind her fellow open class stablemates. But the injury which threatened her career last month has shown no sign of flaring up.
"Her legs are as good as gold and she is coming back to her best," Purdon said. Merinai will have a run at the Alexandra Park workouts on Saturday but will not clash with Buster Hanover and Sundon's Way in the mobile mile at Cambridge on Christmas Eve.
"I couldn't see her back at the track until the National Trot on December 29 and her performances will tell us whether she is ready to go to the Summer Carnival in Melbourne.