A race day gallop at Sandown proved the perfect tonic for star sprinter Skybird as she continues her build-up towards a spring campaign following an injury-enforced break.
The talented mare has not been seen since her stunning win in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning at Flemington back in February, with a pectoral muscle injury forcing her to the sidelines. Trainer Mitch Freedman revealed Skybird could have been brought back for a tilt at the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville in May, but the risk of aggravating the problem would have compromised her spring preparation.
Freedman has the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley on September 6 earmarked as Skybird’s first-up target, although he has also flagged the Listed Carlyon Stakes at The Valley two weeks earlier as a potential option should she be ready to resume sooner.
“She is almost ready for a jump-out, but we thought a race day gallop at Sandown – getting her on course, feeling that adrenaline and being in that environment – would be a great way to stimulate her ahead of her return,” Freedman said.
“At Ballarat we don’t have the same regular access to jump-outs and racecourse gallops like at Sandown, so it was a great opportunity to bring her here today. We were delighted with how she looked and how she worked.”
Freedman expects Skybird to have a jump-out in the next 10 to 14 days, depending on track availability, and was full of praise for how the mare has developed during her time off.
“It’s the cliché that she’s come back bigger and stronger, but she really has,” he said. “She was starting to get a bit above herself at home, so today’s outing away from Ballarat was ideal. She looked magnificent out the back and her work was spot on.”
While the Moir Stakes is the likely first-up assignment, Freedman said plans beyond that remain flexible.
“As a Group 1 winner, getting a run won’t be an issue except for races with invitational or slot conditions,” he explained. “There aren’t any 1000-metre weight-for-age options down the Flemington straight in spring, so we may need to stretch her to 1200 metres later in the prep.”
Earlier on the same day, Freedman also gave his entire Attrition a jump-out at Caulfield. Although he was comfortably beaten by a sharp field that included quality sprinter Mornington Glory, Freedman was encouraged by the hit-out.
“The data compared to this same jump-out last year shows he’s gone better this time, which is really exciting,” Freedman said. “He finished a fair way off the leaders, but his final 100 or 200 metres was excellent to the eye. The way these jump-outs are structured, with middle-distance horses against sprinters, tends to spread them out, but it was the right type of jump-out for him.”
Mornington Glory, who was also in the heat, looked sharp in his work, but Freedman felt Attrition had taken good benefit from the outing. “It was the right piece of work to take the freshness out of his legs as he heads to a second jump-out and continues to build fitness,” he said.
Attrition is being aimed at the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield on August 16 as his likely starting point, with the Group 2 Hill Stakes (1900m) at Rosehill in October – a race he captured last year – set as a key longer-term spring goal.