Autumn Glow may have escaped with her unbeaten record last start, but it was Gangsta Granny who ensured the favourite was made to work. The two mares clashed in the Toy Show Quality (1100m) where Gangsta Granny led and was only collared late, beaten half a length.
This weekend, Michael Hawkes’ mare returns in the Group 2 Sheraco Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill, with her conqueror stepping out instead in the Theo Marks Stakes. But the task is no easier: standing in her way will be Chris Waller’s star Joliestar, who has been locked in for an Everest slot and is expected to start odds-on.
“She just got left wanting in front,” Hawkes said of Gangsta Granny’s Toy Show run. “I wish the leader had have gone another fifty or seventy metres. It would have made it interesting … Autumn Glow’s wheels were spinning and then by the time it balanced up, our mare probably still gets beaten but it could have been different.”
Bookmakers have installed Joliestar $2.25 favourite, with Gangsta Granny the clear second pick at $3.30.
Rosehill will again present rain-affected ground after more than 50 millimetres fell midweek, leaving the track rated a heavy 10 on Thursday.
Alongside the headline pair, the nine-horse Sheraco field also boasts Group 1 Doncaster Mile winner Stefi Magnetica, high-class mare Ameena, runner-up in the Robert Sangster Stakes, and Lilac, who announced herself with a placing in the Light Fingers Stakes last autumn.