Sunshine Coast trainer Stuart Kendrick quietly confident filly Dushenka will perform strongly in Reisling Stakes at Randwick

Recent two-year-old results has boosted Queensland trainer Stuart Kendrick’s hopes his filly can pull off an upset in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes in Sydney on Saturday.

Dushenka heads to Sydney for the Group 2 Reisling Stakes after winning on debut at Eagle Farm last month. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

Devil Night’s stunning Blue Diamond Stakes victory has boosted Sunshine Coast trainer Stuart Kendrick’s hopes that his emerging talent Dushenka can pull off a similar upset in Sydney on Saturday.

Brisbane jockey Kyle Wilson-Taylor will ride Dushenka in the $300,000 Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) for fillies at Randwick in just the two-year-old’s second start.

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Kendrick said this season was wide open in the two-year-old ranks, highlighted last month when classy colt Devil Night won the Group 1 Blue Diamond (1200m) at Caulfield and Chris Waller’s Golden Slipper favourite Wodeton was beaten in the Group 2 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill.

Yulong Investments paid $1.4m for the Hawkes Racing-trained Devil Night at last year’s Magic Millions yearling sale on the Gold Coast.

Although Doubtland filly Dushenka costs a fraction of that price at $90,000, Kendrick is hopeful she can triumph this Saturday in the Reisling Stakes and then possibly set sail for the prestigious $5m Golden Slipper at Rosehill on March 22.

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“Looking at the two-year-old races in Sydney and Melbourne at the moment, I mean a maiden (Devil Night) won the Blue Diamond last start, the form’s been all over the place,” Kendrick said.

“I don’t think it looks a lot between all those (two-year-old) horses. Nothing has really stood out.

“The favourite for the Golden Slipper (colt Wodeton) got beaten last start, although he didn’t have a lot of luck.

“I think it’s the most open season for two-year-olds that I’ve seen in a long time.”

TAB has posted Dushenka as a $23 chance from barrier six in the Reisling Stakes, with the James Cummings-trained Tempted the $3.50 favourite, ahead of Bel Merci ($5) and Inkaruna ($6.50).

Sunshine Coast trainer Stuart Kendrick has high hopes for his filly Dushenka.

Dushenka scored an impressive victory in her debut start at Eagle Farm in January when she crushed $1.14 favourite Space Rider over 1200m.

That form was franked when the runner-up in that 2YO Handicap, filly Idyllic Affair, won at Doomben early last month.

Asked whether the Golden Slipper was on the radar for Dushenka, Kendrick said: “We’ll get this weekend out of the way and then I’ll talk to the owners and we can make some decisions after that.

“A lot of it will come back to how she performs this weekend and how she fits in.

“I think she’s going to be a better 1400m filly, even a mile will suit her.”

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Kendrick said Wilson-Taylor was “rapt” after galloping Dushenka on Tuesday but with rain forecast in Sydney this week, he was unsure how she would handle a wet track.

“We don’t really know because she’s only had the one start,” he said.

“They can seem to handle it pretty comfortably when they’re on the bit but once you get a little bit of race pressure, it all starts to tell.

“But she’s pretty foolproof and she’s a straightforward filly. Everything we’ve asked her to do she’s done so hopefully it’s the same with the wet track.”

Originally published as Sunshine Coast trainer Stuart Kendrick quietly confident filly Dushenka will perform strongly in Reisling Stakes at Randwick