The outside barrier in Saturday’s 2018 Light Fingers Stakes field at Royal Randwick is a non-issue for the returning Golden Slipper runner-up Frolic according to her locally-based trainer Edward O’Rourke.
Frolic will be ridden cold from the outside alley in Saturday’s 2018 Light Fingers Stakes at Royal Randwick. Photo: Steve Hart.
Irish expat Irish expat Irish expat O’Rourke saddles-up two of the 14 fillies in this autumn’s Group 2 $200,000 Light Fingers Stakes (1200m), the set weights clash running as the penultimate event on a nine-race Apollo Stakes Day card on the weekend.
His Not A Single Doubt filly From Within is a $61 roughie in Light Fingers Stakes betting at Ladbrokes.com.au despite a good gate three draw, while stablemate Frolic is at $13 after coming up with barrier 14 of 14.
The filly to beat dominating the markets is odds-on favourite Alizee ($1.85), the Flight Stakes winning daughter of Sepoy running for the first time since her Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) third in Melbourne last October.
O’Rourke though remains confident the better fancied of his runners, Frolic, can still be competitive with instructions to jockey Jason Collett to “keep it simple” from the wide gate.
“It doesn’t really bother me, we were always going to ride her cold,” O’Rourke said of the barrier speaking to Racing NSW this week.
“We’re not going to change her racing pattern.
It’s going to be a tough race and a big ask but he’ll be taking her time on her and come with one run down the outside.”
Husson filly Frolic is first-up off a lengthy spell not having raced since her mid-field seventh to Invader in last April’s Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) when prepared by Michael Freedman, who O’Rourke was a foreman for.
Freedman is now based in Hong Kong giving O’Rourke the chance to step-up and take over the training of some very nice horses including Frolic who had bone chips removed during her time off.
The Sires’ run followed her career best performance when backing up from a Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) win in the mud over She Will Reign at Randwick to finish runner-up to that filly in the Group 1 $3.5 million Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m).
Frolic has trialled twice this summer ahead of her much-awaited return, the latest producing a nice third over 1000m in a Rosehill hit-out on February 5 with Winx jockey Hugh Bowman aboard.
“She’s matured into a bigger and stronger filly but she still has the same attitude,” O’Rourke said.
“She never really works flashy at home so it’s hard to get a real guide on if she’s back.
“I just want to see her hit that line strong to know we are heading in the right direction.
“Hughie Bowman was happy with her last trial so I suppose you can’t ask for any more than that.”
All going well first-up, Frolic is likely to head towards the recently upgraded Group 1 $500,000 Surround Stakes (1400m) back at Randwick on March 3 followed by the Group 1 $600,000 Coolmore Classic (1500m) at Rosehill a fortnight later.
“There’s not many soft places to go with a filly like this,” O’Rourke said.
“She’s the only filly to take the scalp of She Will Reign and that’s a weighty task.”
To get behind Frolic on Saturday and ahead in the Sydney Group 1 autumn races at the right price visit Ladbrokes.com.au today.
