A gear alteration is being introduced by the Mark Walker stable in their attempt to win a Group 1 race with Lara Antipova.
The filly will wear a cross-over nose band for the first time when Lara Antipova contests the Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Having secured victory over 1400m at Flemington on September 12, Lara Antipova then finished fourth behind the colts in the Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield on September 27.
Ben Gleeson, Mark Walker’s assistant trainer, explained that the filly’s tendency to over-race in her previous start prompted the decision to use the cross-over nose band.
Gleeson reported that Lara Antipova executed a solid gallop in the new equipment at Caulfield on Tuesday and proved much easier to manage.
“She did a little bit wrong last start,” Gleeson stated. “She over travelled and it was a very slow tempo. I think they were six lengths slower than when she won at Flemington where she had a lovely run in transit.”
“I know everyone was saying she had all the favours, but they ran it at a pretty strong tempo and if you look at where the leader and the second (horse) in the run finished, out the back, she stuck on pretty strongly to win.”
“The tempo brought her undone the other day. I still think she ran boldly and didn’t drop out after over-travelling in the run.”
“She’s blown those cobwebs out now at the mile. She’s had a nice three weeks to get over it and the colts that beat her, they were beaten by two superstars in the Caulfield Guineas last week.”
“The fillies in the Guineas this week are nowhere near the colts, and we’ve put the crossover noseband on.”
“She was much more tractable with it in her gallop on Tuesday and if she can do everything right in the run and travel sweetly, she’s got a chance.”
Gleeson mentioned that the journey away from Cranbourne on Tuesday seemed to invigorate Lara Antipova, also providing her with a different perspective.
“It was good to take her away from her routine at home,” Gleeson remarked. “She was fresh, on her toes, and you get the best surface for galloping.”
“Her coat is the best it has been all prep, her weight is great, her attitude is terrific, and there seems a really good sense of timing, but she will need the luck with a good tempo.”
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