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KAREN Byrnes admits she’s sending Street Life to Melbourne with mixed emotions this weekend.
It's rare a horse in her care leaves the Murray Bridge trainer's sight, but consistent form on South Australia soil has forced her hand with the eight-year-old.
Street Life, who won the Hills Railway Stakes at Oakbank first-up from a spell and was placed behind Savatoxl in the Group 3 D C McKay Stakes during the carnival, will be in safe hands with Clayton Douglas and his partner - superstar South Australian horsewoman Jamie Kah.
"I'm a little beside myself,'' Karen Byrnes said.
"I was taking to Clayton the other day and said he'll probably get 4000 phone calls asking how the horse is, sending a horse to Melbourne is new to me, I've always gone with them.
"But knowing he'll get the same lifestyle with Jamie and Clayton is a nice feeling,'' Byrnes said.
Street Life has been around the mark in his past three starts, beaten just 2.8 lengths behind Too Good Too Hard on his home track in May before he was unsuited against the pattern at Gawler behind Maha.
And Byrnes said his latest effort on a testing heavy track at Morphettville when second to Victorian raider Sir Kalahad was testament to his consistency.
"He's pretty honest,'' Byrnes said.
"He's one of those horses, you just know every time you put him out there, he will give 110 per cent.
"Even last-start on a Heavy 28, he tried his heart out,'' she said.
Byrnes said Melbourne was a more appealing option than taking on some big names in Adelaide in next weekend's Group 3 Spring Stakes at Morphettville.
"It was either Melbourne or the Spring Stakes,'' Byrnes said.
"He's rated up there with the big boys now, so this looked a better option then taking on Behemoth and all those horses heading towards the Melbourne spring,'' she said.
Despite being unwanted by bookmakers, marked a $71 chance with tab.com.au, it wouldn't be the first time Byrnes has caused a boil over at famous Flemington.
"I trained my first ever winner at Flemington, back in 1988,'' Byrnes said.
"I took Brown Cast to Casterton, Mark Faust fell off him and I thought, what will I do now?
"I had planned to go to Melbourne, so we went from Casterton to Flemington. I had to school him, Paul Worthington rode him, and he trialled extremely well.
"We flew Mark (Faust) over and he started 66/1 and got the money, he went on to win a Great Eastern Steeplechase (in 1989),'' she said.
Locally Byrnes will have Smart Alick racing on his home track at Murray Bridge.
The horse scored an upset win at Gawler two starts back before chasing home Smart Lake's Folly at Morphettville last weekend.
