Racing: Scarlett Lady out for spell before Cup campaign

James McDonald. Photo / Sarah Ivey

A dodgy weather forecast finally saw in-form Scarlett Lady's A$500,000 Queensland Derby attempt skittled.

Rain is forecast for Brisbane this weekend with a heavy Eagle Farm track for the Derby being strongly tipped.

Co-trainer Debbie Rogerson said the team of her co-trainer Graeme Rogerson and owner Max Whitby agreed they couldn't afford for the filly to have a tough run in heavy conditions if they wanted to look at their spring plans in Melbourne.

"If she had a gut-buster this weekend it would mean we would have to leave her out [spell] longer than planned, which would have meant we couldn't have got her ready for a Caulfield Cup or a Melbourne Cup.

"The weather for Saturday looks atrocious. We all had a long talk about it last night and we agreed that we couldn't afford to bottom her out.

"The plan was always for the Roses and the Oaks and the Derby would have been a total afterthought. How often does an afterthought work?

"This way she's going out in prime condition. We've had her blood done and it's very good and she's been doing very well since the Oaks.

"She gets flown home on Tuesday, she will have three weeks at Dormello Stud and then be prepared for Melbourne."

The second New Zealand filly from Saturday's Oaks, Shez Sinsational is a definite runner in the Derby.

The filly's Taranaki owners yesterday paid the A$27,000 late entry fee to have her in the line-up.

"She deserves a place because she pulled up well after her third in the Oaks at the weekend," said trainer Allan Sharrock.

"She had a bit of a blow after that race, so there's a fraction of improvement in her.

"I told the other owners that I would judge it on how she worked this morning and she worked well."


Horse racing's greatest certainty for three months missed by one bound at Matamata yesterday.

But it's only a day away.

Scarlett Lady's regular jockey James McDonald equalled Lisa Cropp's New Zealand seasonal record of 197 wins on John Sargent's Lonhro filly La Tourneau and believed - along with the army of punters that crunched it into $1.65 - that Delaman in the last would put him in front.

As hard as Delaman and McDonald tried they were denied by a head by Boy Star.

McDonald has countless meetings in which to notch his 198th winner before the end of July, but it will be a surprise if he doesn't do it with one of his seven rides at Counties tomorrow before he heads to Brisbane to ride at Eagle Farm's Derby/Stradbroke meeting on Saturday.

Paul Shailer, Chris Waller's former foreman in Sydney, trained his first New Zealand winner Tiz Weissmuller at Matamata yesterday.

The winner was appropriately named.

Johnny Weissmuller was a world champion swimmer, who picked up five Olympic golds in the pool.

They were swimming on yesterday's heavy 11 surface.

Topweight Black Piranha, aiming to become the first horse to win three Stradbroke Handicaps, drew three in a field of 18, plus five emergencies, for Saturday's Eagle Farm feature.

The Con Karakatsanis-trained 7-year-old, to be ridden by Hugh Bowman, won the A$1 million race in 2009 and last year to become just the eighth galloper to win two Stradbrokes in the race's 120-year history.

"I'm quite happy with barrier three," Karakatsanis said after yesterday's draw.

"It's better than 23, I guess."

Last-start Doomben 10,000 winner Beaded drew wide in barrier 17, immediately outside another fancied runner in Love Conquers All.

Sniper's Bullet, who won in 2007, drew barrier 22, while the Tony Gollan-trained Listen Son came up with gate one and Alverta landed the outside stall.

- Additional reporting AAP