Kelly Doughty thought she was the victim of a practical joke when told her horse Black Cash had drawn barrier one in the Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich on Saturday.
The Gold Coast trainer is adamant the inside alley provides Black Cash with a great chance of winning the 1350m Listed race.
“I said you are joking. We have had such terrible luck with barriers of late I thought someone must have left a number off the one by mistake,” Doughty said.
Black Cash showed he was up to feature race class when he won the Subzero Challenge (1400m) at Flemington during the Melbourne Spring.
The gelding is unlikely to return to Melbourne this Spring as Doughty is keen to win a Brisbane winter carnival race with him.
It would probably leave too little time for Black Cash to spell and then head south.
Black Cash ran an excellent fourth in the Group Two QTC Cup (1200m) at his last start when trapped off the course.
“He was drawn very wide at his first run back from a spell and never got on the track. Then his run in the QTC Cup was very good but he had no luck,” she said.
“We have had the Eye Liner and Glasshouse Mountains at the Sunshine in the back of our minds all along for Black Cash. And we will probably press on to the Tatts’ Mile with him at the and of the carnival.”
Premiership leading jockey Michael Cahill takes over from Tegan Harrison aboard Black Cash in the Eye Liner.
Cahill leads the premiership on 51 winners but has been having a run of outs and has not ridden a winner at the past six city class meetings.