Karinska missed out narrowly in the James H B Carr Stakes, providing her with a fresh shot at stakes glory via the Group Three Hawkesbury Guineas.
She met with cruel luck at Randwick when James McDonald took her to the fence’s exterior, before Snitzel Dancer, the winner, forced her inward.
Karinska finished with a flourish into third, stinging Chris Waller’s aide Charlie Duckworth to this day.
‘You know when jockeys come in and say, ‘I should have won’. This wasn’t a ‘should have’. There was no air of doubt. It was, ‘if I get my run, I win’,’ Duckworth said.
‘She is barging the door down to win one of these.’
In her three-year-old program, the filly has matched strides with elite peers, nearly claiming spots in the Furious Stakes and Tea Rose Stakes in spring, and securing Group 1 silverware behind Apocalyptic in the Flight Stakes.
As McDonald sits out the weekend, Tommy Berry hops aboard, aligning with Duckworth in expecting Karinska to strike.
‘Last start was a good example of how well she is going,’ Berry said.
‘She has got a great racing style, she can put herself just behind the speed.
‘You look at her last prep, the races she was running in and the quality of horses she was up against. It’s a bit of a step back from that, and the team is very confident.’
At $6.50 on Friday, Karinska chases history as the first filly since Shazee Lee to win the Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m) nine years on.
Berry prioritizes two-year-old Tenebaum at Hawkesbury ahead of the reliable Karinska.
Having steered the Brad Widdup colt in three trials before his Wyong romp on debut, Berry eyes Brisbane winter riches.
‘He is the main reason I chose to stay in Sydney instead of going to Queensland. I think he’s got the potential to be a J J Atkins horse,’ Berry said.
‘He put them away quite easily last start at Wyong and won by a margin, which is hard to do for two-year-olds.
‘The penny is just starting to drop with him. He will improve again off the weekend but to go to Queensland and be competitive in those races, he’s going to have to put in a good showing on Saturday.’
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