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Godolphin trainer James Cummings has nominated an astonishing five Group One winners for a barrier trial at Rosehill on Friday.
Cummings has nominated Alizee, Avilius, Best Of Days and Hartnell - arguably the four best older horses in the Godolphin stable – as well as the Golden Slipper Stakes winner Kiamichi for the 900m trial on the Rosehill course proper.
Cummings has also entered Magic Millions Classic winner Exhilarates, G3 Black Opal Stakes winner Pin Sec and G3 Kindergarten Stakes winner Bivouac for other 2YO heats to be run over 900m on the inside grass on Friday.
It is rare for any stable to have such high class fire power trialling in mid-winter but is an indication of how Cummings is responding to the massive prizemoney increases and adjustments to the spring carnival programming that points to him having these horses ready to resume in the first weeks of the new season in August.
He has numerous options to consider in Sydney and Melbourne for his Group horses and is likely to give Friday's team a second trial before locking down their race programs.
"I don't want to be locked in to any plans with too much rigidity that could come back to bite us," Cummings said.
"It is a long spring, some will be ready to hit the ground running in August and we'll let them take the wraps off themselves when they are ready.''
However Cummings is definite about his early plans for his best mare Alizee now that Godolphin has secured an Everest slot of its own after winning the tender process for the Jadesky Racing berth that was declared vacant after the arrest of owner Damion Flower on drug charges.
Cummings is aiming to have Alizee ready to resume in the $200,000 Missile Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on August 10, indicating she is top of the short list to fill the Godolphin slot in the $14 million Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 19 ahead of Osborne Bulls and Stradbroke winner Trekking.
"She's a brilliant six furlong filly,'' Cummings said of the rising five-year-old.
"She's in good shape. The Missile will come around in early August and I think she will be ready to go there."
Alizee was spelled after she finished sixth in the G1 Queen Of The Turf (1600m) at Randwick in April.
Cummings indicated the Everest slot would be filled by one of his older stars, believing the race is too much of a test for a spring 3YO despite his stable's great depth in that age group led by the G1 juvenile winners Kiamichi and Microphone.
