Adrian Bott has declared class mare Tropical Squall has her mojo back and he is putting his faith in her to rebound in the Group 2 Golden Pendant at Rosehill.
The four-year-old winner turned in a below par performance when making her spring return in last month’s Winx Stakes (1400m), tiring after leading to finish down the track.
Bott and co-trainer Gai Waterhouse have given her more than a month to recover from that run, keeping her fitness up to the mark with a barrier trial, and in retrospect, Bott believes the Winx Stakes might have come too soon.
“Whether she was a bit rushed to get there in hindsight, because she did feel the run,” Bott said.
“But I think she has got her confidence back and she feels much better within herself.
“She has come along nicely since then, she has been back to the trials, she looks great, she is working well.
“No doubt she is better placed here than what she was first-up so I’m sure she can get some confidence back.”
Along with Amelia’s Jewel, Tropical Squall is the class runner in the Golden Pendant (1400m), the pair the only Group 1 winners in the select field of eight.
In a big afternoon for the stable, Tulloch Lodge will saddle up three runners in the day’s feature, the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m), led by top colt Storm Boy, while Bott also has high hopes for their three-year-old in the Listed Heritage Stakes (1100m), Ikasara.
The winner of his only start at Rosehill in April, Ikasara is likely to follow a traditional sprint path towards the Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington during the Melbourne spring carnival.
“Lovely horse. We’ve only seen him once at Rosehill but the form out of that has stood up really well,” Bott said.
“He has been centred around the Heritage (Stakes) , Roman Consul (Stakes) and potentially a Coolmore campaign if he can step up.”