A change of jockey could mean change of fortune for a class Kiwi, writes MIKE DILLON
Start talking jockeys and you notice a slight narrowing of Robert Priscott's eyes.
The Waikato trainer is too smart to start bagging jockeys, but Melbourne rider Brett Prebble has him confused.
In the autumn the pair tore a million-dollar hole through the Melbourne and Sydney racing arenas.
This spring in Melbourne they haven't been able to win an argument with the horse they got the huge money with earlier this year, class mare Hill Of Grace.
Prebble, one of the most astute jockeys around, has to put his hand up for the responsibility for that.
He had the mare back in an impossible tail end position when Fairway and Sunline were making play up front in the Turnbull Stakes then did exactly the opposite and made his run at the leaders 200m too soon to hit the front on the home turn in the $A2 million Caulfield Cup.
That move was almost unforgiveable in a race where the pace had been suicidal and making the last run at the leaders - as Jim Cassidy did on the eventual winner Diatribe - was the smart money.
"The Turnbull I forgave, because it was circumstantial, even though you can't give horses like Sunline and Fairway a big start.
"But the Caulfield Cup, well, that was simply impatience."
The surprise was that Priscott offered Prebble the ride on Hill Of Grace in today's $A500,000 Louis Vuitton Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington.
The bigger surprise was Prebble turned it down to ride French invader Mont Rocher.
If you are going for a replacement, getting Melbourne's best rider Damien Oliver is like winning Lotto.
Priscott is confident the class mare will be hard to beat, even if the track comes up today as slow.
"She has actually improved with that hard run in the Caulfield Cup.
"She is doing really well and looks as though she could be hard to beat.
"She looks well placed in this race because there are no Sunlines or Fairways engaged and she handled the wet track in the Turnbull okay."
Even though Hill Of Grace has a relatively short sprint for a big, rangy Zabeel, she suits roomy tracks and Flemington looks ideal.
With the rail moved back to the true position, providing fresh inside ground, there is a strong suspicion the first two horse widths out from the rail will be a fast lane today.
Hill Of Grace has a perfect No6 barrier.
If the earlier races show the inside bias, Oliver will be perfectly placed to take advantage of that draw.
Cox Plate flop Sky Heights was last night 5-2 ($3.50) Mackinnon Stakes favourite after a dashing mid-week gallop.
Oliver Twist is second favourite at 6-1 and Hill Of Grace on 7-1.
It may pay to take Prebble's tip and include Mont Rocher in your multiple bets.
The dashing grey injured a fetlock joint when badly buffeted in the Caulfield Cup, so his failure there can be forgiven.
He is a class type and was strongly backed by informed sources in the Caulfield Cup.
This field is well within his reach.
Racing: Oliver should be all Hill Of Grace needs in Mackinnon
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