Flighty Filly Ready to Step Up for Jewel Qualifier

Cheeky filly Kobayastar has had some growing up to do but her trainer Matt McGuire is confident she’s set to shine.

The lightly raced Kobayashi filly will take on her toughest task to date when she lines up in Thursday’s Ladbrokes QTIS Jewel 3YO Qualifier (1200m) at Cluden Park.

McGuire is quietly confident the once unruly filly is ready to take a major step up in this week’s feature which offers the winner a berth in the $500,000 QTIS Jewel at the Gold Coast on March 8.

His only niggling concern is a month between runs for the family-owned filly.

“There is a slight doubt about fitness I suppose because we missed a number of days at the track during the recent rain, but I think she’ll race very well,” McGuire said.

“There was a race programmed a fortnight ago that really suited her but the meeting was washed out. She was primed to put in a peak performance that day but unfortunately it eluded us.

“She’s working well, she eats up well and I can’t fault her at all. She looks unbelievable at the moment and hopefully she’s fit enough.

“In her favour, she’s been in work a long time and trialled a couple of times before her first start.

“She’d had plenty of work before the rain came so maybe it’s a blessing in disguise the little freshen up.

“Her last run was really impressive under the circumstances. Chelsea (Jokic) came back and said she got into a bit of trouble at the start and nearly came out of the saddle. She gave them all a fair head start and ran most of them down and it was quite eye-catching.

“There’s some in-form horses in the Qualifier who are also hitting their straps and targeted this.

“These sorts of races are always going to be tough. There looks like a bit of pace in the race so we’d be looking to get to mid-field and get to the outside in the straight.”

McGuire has pencilled in the Rockhampton Capricornia Sales 3/4YO Classic on April 12 as Kobayastar’s main target.

But he said a win on Thursday could prompt a rethink.

“The Rocky three-year-old race out of that sales series is a target at this stage but if we win on Thursday we might have to consider a trip to the Gold Coast for the Jewel,” he said.

“I’ve got a good opinion of her. I think she’ll be better as she gets older and matures a bit more. She’s probably the sharpest two or three-year-old we’ve had and she’s getting better with each prep.

“Mum (Michelle) thinks the world of her and it’s nice we might have a pretty good one that we race as a family.”

Chris Meehan will ride Kobayastar in the Qualifier which is the third race on Thursday’s six-event card.