The rain which has soaked the Sunshine Coast for the past few days is a double-edged sword for trainer Steve Tregea.
He had planned to start stakes-winning geldings Bergerac and Niccanova in the Listed Glasshouse Handicap (1400m) on Saturday.
Tregea checked the weather and discovered the track had received 80mm this week to Thursday with more predicted.
“The track is rated well in the heavy range and even with the forecast fine Saturday it will still be rain-affected,” he said.
It made it s simple choice for Tregea not to accept with Bergerac, who won the Ipswich Cup two weeks ago.
“He isn’t much good in the wet and he can he saved for another day,” Tregea said.
“Bergerac will probably head up to Rockhampton for their Cup. It will just depend on the weight he gets.”
A wet track is no bar to for Niccanova who is a noted mudlark.
“He is two wins from two starts on heavy tracks and three wins from four starts on soft going,” Tregea said.
“Niccanova didn’t have much luck when beaten in the Wayne Wilson Mile last start and coming back to 1400 metres won’t hurt him.”
Tregea is also tossing up whether to take Niccanova to Rockhampton for the Newmarket after Saturday’s race.
“The prize money has been boosted for the country races so they are tempting,” Tregea said.
The Toowoomba-based Tregea, who mixes breeding with training, is having his best season and has won three stakes races this year.
“We are only a relatively small stable so to win stakes races is a big boost,” he said.