Jack Milner: If there’s one runner who has the ability to catch the eye on Thursday, it’s Big Eyed Girl.
She will be lining up in Race 6, a Classified Stakes over 1000m.
Trained by Johan Janse van Vuuren, this Vercingetorix filly earned herself a merit rating of 85 after just two runs as a juvenile.
She jumped like a bullet on debut and led for most of the way before fading towards the end, finishing second. Second time around she understood what the game was all about and finished the job without seeing another runner along the way.
The official victory margin in that pillar-to-post victory was 3.50-lengths.
Runner-up in that race, Super Excited, went on to exit the maiden ranks, so there’s no question about the form being franked.
There was no shortage of betting support for her, and even though she opened around 13-10, by the time the runners were sent home, she was trading at 5-10.
Gavin Lerena was aboard her on that occasion, but he is not in action at this meeting and Raymond Danielson has picked up the ride.
Big Eyed Girl could be one to follow in some of the three-year-old features later in the season and it will be interesting to see whether sprinting is her forte, or whether she will go a further.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 5 Faeezahs Princess, 1 Super Tanaye, 2 Smelting, 9 Alula’s Star