Todd Pollard is not resting on his laurels with the in-form mare Midnight In Tokyo, admitting that any further achievements this Spring would be a welcome bonus.
The seven-year-old mare recently secured a victory in the Group 3 Show County Quality over 1200 metres, marking her inaugural Group level win and her fourth at black-type level. She now has the choice between the Group 2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) and the Group 3 Sheraco Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill this Saturday.
Pollard, who formerly managed Annabel & Rob Archibald’s Queensland stable and was responsible for Midnight In Tokyo’s care, expressed a preference for the shorter 1200m distance. However, he plans to make the final decision on her target race after acceptances have been finalised.
“I’d prefer the Sheraco, 1200 (metres) is definitely her go but looking at the nominations you’d probably lean to the Theo Marks,” Pollard said.
“We’ll accept in both and just see the quality of both fields, I suppose, and where she draws and go from there, because 1300 is sort of her upper limit, I think she gets it okay, but we’d definitely prefer the Sheraco.”
With a rating of 107, Midnight In Tokyo would be assigned 56kg in the Theo Marks Stakes, facing a potential topweight of 59kg. Conversely, the Sheraco Stakes might feature two 115-rated mares, Lady Shenandoah and Lazzura, which could make contesting against the colts a more appealing option.
“It’d be interesting to see what does accept there,” Pollard commented.
“I wasn’t sure if Lady Shenandoah would after kicking off over 1400 metres but obviously she’s in a different league to what we are, so you’d probably be trying to avoid a horse of her quality so it’s just a wait and see.
Having won nine of her 37 starts and accumulated $961,500 in prize money, Midnight In Tokyo shows no signs of declining in her seven-year-old season. Pollard is well-versed in her routine and how to maximise her performance.
“She had a bit of time in the paddock before coming back into the stable again to get over the trip but she seems to have come through it really well,” Pollard explained.
“She’s had a couple of gallops, and Ben Thompson galloped her on the course proper Tuesday morning and he’s over the moon with the way she is.
“She just gets bigger and stronger every time she comes in, her last twelve months have been her best and it looks like she’s got another good twelve months in her.
“I feel like a lot of the pressure is off now that she’s got that group win in Sydney and anything else is just a bonus, but we don’t want to rest on our laurels
“She’s just a good, honest horse, always turns up so we’re confident she’ll go down and run well and as long as she puts the best foot forward hopefully she can go close.”
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