KEY POINTS:
Crossyourheart ruined more than every horse's party in Saturday's $500,000 NZ Bloodstock Classique - she has temporarily destroyed John Wheeler's dream.
Until Saturday Wheeler had been determined to tackle the A$3.5 million ($4 million) Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill next month with Classique runner up The Pooka.
That
plan has been scrapped after Crossyourheart's stunning win.
It's a shame - in the face of differing opinions Wheeler has long maintained New Zealand's best juveniles are a match for their Australian counterparts, which most Australian horsemen believe are invincible.
With New Zealand winless in 50 runnings of the Golden Slipper, Wheeler has copped flak from some quarters for his belief and when The Pooka brilliantly won the Wellesley Stakes at Trentham from a wide gate he believed he had the right material to make his point.
He now knows that even though The Pooka had no luck from his wide draw at Te Rapa on Saturday, it didn't even come close to making the difference and that The Pooka is unlikely to ever beat Crossyourheart while she is in her current form.
"He didn't fail, but he wasn't good enough to go at her speed," said Wheeler. "He did it tough from the [awkward] draw, but that filly is really something.
"I was real interested in the Slipper, but now he can stay at home and be set for the two Sires Produce races."
In the remarkable way horse racing works, if Crossyourheart had not been in the race everyone would have said The Pooka was outstanding winning from an awkward wide draw and Wheeler would have had the juvenile's ticket to Australia booked.
Wheeler is delighted with the way The Pooka came through what was a very tough run and co-trainer Richard Collett is equally pleased that Crossyourheart appears not to have even had a race.
"She lost only 1kg from the race," said Collett. "Most of my horses lose 8kg with a race. We weigh them all every Monday morning and Crossyourheart was only 1kg lighter than she was the previous week."
Because of her great class and exceptional cruising speed, Crossyourheart has not been put under pressure in any of her four races.
She is certain to experience massive pressure if she runs in the Golden Slipper and it will be no disappointment to Collett and his team if that's the first occasion so she can go into the race mentally confident.
The filly goes forward to the Robin, Duke Of Bedford Matamata Breeders Stakes and the Diamond Stakes at Ellerslie before owner Gerald Shand makes the decision whether to pay the Golden Slipper late entry fee.
