Trainer Richard Laming has confirmed that he expects jockey Jim Cassidy to press forward on talented filly Payroll in the early stages of the 2015 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield on Saturday.
Payroll has shown a degree of tactical versatility during her racing career to date, but she appeared to relish being ridden aggressively in the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 26 and she toughed it out to the line to finish second behind Miss Gunpowder.
Laming told Racing Ahead this morning that the inside gate Payroll has been allocated may be tricky, but he remains hopeful that Cassidy can settle the Not A Single Doubt filly just behind likely leader Miss Gunpowder in the early stages of the race.
“Hopefully Jimmy can get out and get comfortable.
“There doesn’t look to be a great deal of speed in the race, I suppose that Miss Gunpowder will roll forward from the wide barrier and I will leave it up to Jim, but hopefully we can be up on the speed and get her comfortable.”
Payroll started her 2015 Spring Racing Carnival campaign with a luckless effort in the Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes (1100m) at Flemington on September 12 after getting her tongue over the bit, but she returned to the form she showed as a two-year-old when she finished second in the Thousand Guineas Prelude.
Laming was thrilled with the performance of Payroll in the Thousand Guineas Prelude and he revealed that the three-year-old had taken plenty of benefit out of the tough run ahead of the 2015 Thousand Guineas this weekend.
“It was a terrific effort,” Laming said.
“Jimmy used his initiative and let her roll from the half mile and went out to sit outside the leader.
“She obviously couldn’t have run any quicker than she did.
“Leading into it I hadn’t done a heap with her after the Flemington run because I always had the Thousand Guineas and the Oaks in the back of my mind, so she surely wasn’t peaking for her last start.
“I thought that the run may have taken a bit out of her, but it has actually brought her on and she hasn’t missed a beat.”
The team at Dynamic Syndications and the 20 co-owners of our recent SNITZEL / WORKHARD syndication, will be cheering with gusto Richard Laming’s Payroll – a daughter of NOT A SINGLE DOUBT because she is the ¾ sister to our SNITZEL / WORKHARD Colt that we syndicated recently with Gai Waterhouse. Naturally if Payroll can win this Gr1 event not only will her value skyrocket but so too does the value of our stunning colt.