3 minute read

Trainer Bryce Heys is exactly where he wanted to be with unbeaten mare Dancing Alone as she makes her long awaited city debut at Randwick on Saturday – but he’s wary she still has a stern task ahead of her.

The $1.4 million yearling purchase, by I Am Invincible, has been carefully managed by Bryce Heys. She debuted at Canberra and has added three Kembla Grange wins to her tally prior to her date with the Lockton Handicap (1100m).

Heys said this particular Benchmark 78 has been pencilled in for Dancing Alone since February.

"As soon as I looked at the calendar this race was the one I wanted to land in third-up with her,'' Heys said.

"I wanted to find two races where she was placed to advantage before we ran in this race.

"Just from a fitness standpoint, she has two runs under her belt before she would tackle what I thought would be a competitive race. It looks a stern test for her jumping into there."

Dancing Alone came from what appeared an impossible position to win at Kembla Grange three weeks ago.

After drifting back to last off a fair start and racing three wide throughout, the four-year-old had he audacity to stretch out in the home straight and arrive in time at the end of 1000m.

"She probably wasn't entitled to win,'' he said.

"I know it's not as strong as what she'll face on Saturday but she's had good grounding in terms of overcoming things in the run when she's raced.

"Sometimes you have horses that have ability but you can find an excuse easily in the infancy of their starts when things go wrong. And she's had those, probably three out of four of her runs."

Nash Rawiller has the ride on Dancing Alone, $2.70 favourite with TAB on Wednesday, at Randwick and Heys said the mare has proven she can make some use of an inside gate, in her stalking win over Time To Boogie earlier this year.

He said he's not in a rush to get to stakes grade, regardless of what she cost, given she needed some time, evidenced by six trials over a 12 month period prior to her debut.

"We've got Nash and I'll just tell him what she appreciates and he'll work it out from there. When she beat Time To Boogie she used the gate that day,'' Heys said.

"We'll be neutral on her but hopefully she's not in the back half.

"Regardless of the result she's got upside. Gone are the days of the throwaway line that you hope they are a black type horse.

"I feel Saturday is a big jump for her, she's been prepared and ready for it, and I haven't thought of anything other than landing in this race."

Meanwhile, Heys is in a tricky spot with Group 3 winning mare Po Kare Kare as far as where she'll resume following her trial at Warwick Farm on Thursday.

The Triscay Stakes winner has trialled once and is looking for the right race to kick her off once she's completed that trial.

"I feel 1100m first-up for her is her go,'' he said.

"Outside of the Shorts, which I'm not going to run in, I can't find the right race. I might have to send her to Melbourne to start off.

"She's won her Group race and she's a high rating horse and she's yet to prove she's better than mares grade."