Party time at Ipswich in Gai Waterhouse Classic
Party For Two has a high cruising speed and it will be handlebars down for the one-time Blue Diamond Stakes filly in the Gai Waterhouse Classic at Ipswich on Saturday.
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One-time Blue Diamond Stakes filly Party For Two ticked the 1200m box when she led her rivals a merry dance in the $500,000 QTIS Jewel 3YO earlier this year.
But can the speedy Matt Hoysted and Steven O’Dea-trained filly see out 1200m against Stakes grade opposition?
It’s a question that will be asked and answered in the Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic at Ipswich on Saturday.
Hoysted reckons he will know Party For Two’s fate in the first couple of hundred metres.
Drawing gate 11, but likely to come in a couple of barriers after scratchings, jockey Nikita Beriman will be looking to go handlebars down on the filly early in the race.
She could try to lead, or at least be up near the lead and positioned ready to strike.
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Hoysted will cross his fingers there is enough petrol tickets left in the final stages of the event, where three-year-old Party For Two is rated a $12 chance.
“We will know our fate in the first couple of hundred metres, no doubt,” Hoysted said.
“With a few other quick horses in the race that are going to push forward, and our filly being drawn a bit tricky, she might need to do a bit of work. But hopefully she can get into a forward position without being softened up too much.
“We need to see her be running out the 1200(m) nice and strongly in this sort of grade.
“She was great in the Jewel, but this is much harder competition.”
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PARTY FOR TWO wins the QTIS 3YO Jewel for Nikita Beriman and @ODeaHoysted! What a win ðŸ˜@GCTurfClub#QLDisRacing🇠pic.twitter.com/0fXZwvqTGG
— RaceQ (@RaceQLD) March 9, 2024
In her two-year-old season, Party For Two progressed all the way to Melbourne’s Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes where she finished 11th for her former trainer Damien Batters in the race won by Little Brose.
Her owners then decided to send her to Hoysted and O’Dea and since, she has won a couple of races including the riches of the QTIS Jewel at the Gold Coast in March.
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Saturday’s Stakes race at Ipswich has been a deliberate target this preparation, as has the space between runs.
“She is five weeks between runs and she is very effective when kept fresh,” Hoysted said.
“She ticked the 1200m box in the Jewel but in this sort of grade, she has to be able to do it.
“If she could dictate in front, she would be able to find a nice little kick on the Ipswich turn and they wouldn’t have much time to run her down.”
Originally published as Party time at Ipswich in Gai Waterhouse Classic
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