KEY POINTS:
Don Sellwood must have been the only trainer, or owner, who was not panicking over Wednesday's barrier draw for the $250,000 First Sovereign Trust Telegraph at Trentham on Saturday.
Whether he was kidding or not, Sellwood said he hadn't looked at the barrier draw when I called one hour after it appeared on the internet.
Imananabaa (No 14) and Brianna (7) looked to be a mixed bag for the Railway Handicap first and third pair, but Sellwood was very happy.
"That's okay, they're going to get back anyway."
Sellwood says the barrier draw was not worrying him anywhere near as much as another issue with Brianna - how the high-class mare will cope with the float trip to Trentham. "She hasn't had a lot of travelling," he offered.
"We took her to Palmerston North as a 3-year-old and she went out as favourite, but it was a disaster. She virtually walked back to the birdcage and we still don't know what went wrong. We don't know if it was because of the travelling - it was her first trip away."
There is no question Sellwood should have produced the Railway quinella with Imananabaa and Brianna.
Brianna was checked early and had to make her well known brilliant finish from last at the 375m and just failed to catch Needuask for second place.
If anything, both mares should be better suited to Trentham than to Ellerslie.
Both are ideally placed to storm home off a fast pace, and Telegraph Handicaps are tough events that suit horses getting to the line well.
Sellwood said he can't outwardly fault the condition of either mare since their tough races at Ellerslie.
"They'll run well but, at the weights, Seachange (58.5kg) is going to be very hard to beat."
Seachange has been drawn at No 3. She clears the gates fast enough for that not to be a problem, which is fortunate because inside horses that don't jump well run the risk of getting smothered and buried back along the inside in Telegraphs. Kay's Awake is going to benefit by dropping from 58kg in her last three races to 55kg this time.
She went a beaut in the Concorde to finish fifth under that big weight and this track will suit her better.
Stablemate Clifton Prince (56.5kg) also gets some weight relief thanks to Seachange and Dezigna.
Accardo is a massive chance. He finished strongly into fourth in the Railway after striking trouble early and the way this race will be run will be much more in his favour.
The NZ TAB last night reported a massive bet on Pinsoir for the Telegraph.
One punter placed $10,000 at 14-1 to win $140,000 on the Cambridge sprinter.
* Waikato Gold Cup winner Mirkola Lass and City Of Auckland Cup winner Pasta Post will do an exhibition gallop between races at Avondale on Saturday.
