Star mare Kimochi will take aim at a second Group 1 win over 1400m this Saturday as she headlines Gary Portelli’s team at Randwick on the final day of the Sydney autumn carnival.
She steps up to her preferred trip in the Group 1 All-Aged Stakes, the weight-for-age feature that, along with the Champagne Stakes (1600m), brings the curtain down on Sydney’s elite-level racing for the season.
Kimochi opened her campaign with a powerful second in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) and followed it with a game fifth in the TJ Smith Stakes, where she was caught wide throughout in a strong field.
Trainer Gary Portelli has always had the All-Aged Stakes in mind, with the mare having already proven her quality at the distance in last year’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes in Melbourne.
“She’s come through the run well (in the TJ Smith) and she’s in good order,” Portelli said.
“It’s a perfect preparation, she had a month between runs from first-up to second-up and two weeks to the third-up run.
“I’m pretty happy with her but it’s a pretty tough race.”
Portelli is hoping for a better draw this time after Kimochi had to jump from the widest barrier in the TJ Smith Stakes.
“It was a good run,” Portelli said.
“She was trapped three-wide and just kept battling away. Nash was pretty confident that had we drawn a better gate we would have got a better result.
“The 1400m is a perfect distance for her. It’s always been a race we thought would be a perfect race for her over the seven furlongs at Randwick but it’s going to be a strong All-Aged Stakes. We know what we’re up against but she’ll run well if she draws well.”
Portelli will also saddle up Encap, who caught the eye with a closing third in the Doncaster Mile (1600m). The gelding now steps up to 2000m for the first time in the Group 3 JRA Plate.
The performance will help determine whether Encap targets the Hollindale Stakes and Doomben Cup in Queensland or is freshened for the Stradbroke Handicap.
“We’ve always been wanting to try him at 2000m and he’s in such good order that I think now is the time to try,” Portelli said.
