A trip to Sydney is on the cards for Oaks darling Pennyweka.
The winner of last season’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) and Gr.1 Australian Oaks (2400m) had her first run as a four-year-old when 13th in last Saturday’s Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m), a distance well short of her best.
Trainer Jim Wallace was pleased with what he saw from his mare and has decided to bypass the Gr.1 Arrowfield Stud Plate (1600m) and Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) in favour of chasing the spring riches on offer in Sydney next month.
“She has come through Saturday’s run very well, we are very happy with her,” said Wallace, who co-bred and co-owns the mare.
“She was very strong through the line and that is what I expected. It was going to be too sharp for her at 1400m and I just wanted to see her go through the line. She was three-quarters up the back straight before Kate (Hercock, jockey) was able to pull her up, so I was very happy with it.
“She will go to Sydney early next month so she won’t be at Hastings for the next two legs (of the Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival).
“There are a couple of races there. The Hill Stakes (Gr.2, 2000m) at Rosehill on October 7 will be her next run. It is a A$2 million weight-for-age race, it’s a nice race for her so we will have a crack at that.”
While Australian targets beckon Pennyweka, the A$5 million Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) won’t be one of them.
“We didn’t make the second payment for the Caulfield Cup. If we go to Melbourne we might go to the Moonee Valley Cup (Gr.2, 2500m) or something like that," Wallace said.
“I always wanted to give her a very easy time this spring. There is nothing easy about a Caulfield Cup preparation, so that can wait for another year.
“The autumn and the following spring I think will be her best time and we are just playing it patiently with those periods in mind."