The prevailing weather and track conditions will ultimately decide if Ole Dancer takes her place in a Stakes race at Sandown.
The mare, trained by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, is penciled in to contest the Group 3 Carlyon Stakes over 1000 metres this Saturday.
Sandown will host the Carlyon Stakes this year, as its regular home, Moonee Valley, is undergoing a rebuild and is still approximately 12 months away from welcoming racing back.
Coleman mentioned that the stable is closely observing the weather and track conditions, which were noted as a Soft 6 on Thursday.
“She’s come back good,” Coleman said.
“She has had that one trial. We’re looking at keeping her to shorter trips this time around, but we’re also keeping a watch on the weather and track conditions, so whether she kicks off this weekend or we wait for the following week, I think she will be forward enough to run well wherever we go.”
Having won the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield last spring, Coleman stated the daughter of Ole Kirk would be kept to shorter journeys this campaign.
Coleman suggested that keeping the mare fresh might be the most effective approach for the now four-year-old.
“We felt that she lost a bit of that spark in a couple of her runs when we tried to stretch her out, so we’ve decided to drop her back in trip, keep her fresh, and pinging,” Coleman explained.
“That’s how we’re looking at the prep at this stage and whether we do end up getting her back out 1400 (metres), we’ll be open minded.”
Ole Dancer has not been seen since finishing near the tail of the field in the Group 1 Coolmore Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill in March.
This followed a first-up second placing to Sass Appeal at Flemington on February 14, and a third to Tempted in the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
The mare showed she had returned in fine order by defeating stable star Sheza Alibi in an 800m jump-out on July 28.
Coleman indicated that the stable would remain open-minded about Ole Dancer’s tactics on Saturday, given her ability to race either forward or drop back.
“We’ll just ride her where she’s comfortable,” Coleman concluded.
With the Carlyon Stakes shaping up to be an exciting race, consider exploring the available betting markets for the event at leading Australian betting sites.