KEY POINTS:
You might have thought Juice being beaten by Daffodil in last week's 1000 Guineas damaged her chances against the colt in tomorrow's $1 million 2000 Guineas.
That could be an unwise conclusion.
It's certainly not one that John Wheeler subscribes to after he monitored his filly's progress this week.
Wheeler makes no secret of the fact that he thought Juice would beat Daffodil last week.
"I left her a touch short because I wanted to leave a bit in her for this big race, but I still thought she'd win."
Many believe a retrospective view of last week's race tells you Daffodil has probably been underrated, even by her keenest admirers.
"I think that's probably a fair conclusion," says Wheeler.
He has a lot of faith in Juice and expects her to be a major player against the male 3-year-olds this time.
"I've been working her at the beach with Stand Tall [leading New Zealand Cup contender] each day this week and she's thrived since the 1000 Guineas."
The only other filly in the classic is Il Quello Veloce.
And John Sargent has the same faith in his charge as John Wheeler has.
"She's beaten some of these boys at group one before in the Sires Produce, so we're not concerned," he said yesterday.
"She's drawn out, but she was always going to drop back and have a run at them. That's no problem on this course.
"Whatever the track conditions she won't be worried. She won on a rock-hard track at Woodville and she's performed in the slow."
Juice and Il Quello Veloce have similar records - both have had nine starts for three wins apiece.
