Michael Kent Jnr admits he isn’t sure what to expect from the former Irish mare Sakti as she makes her Australian debut in the Emancipation Stakes at Rosehill, but he remains optimistic about her future in Australia.

This four-year-old mare, who has a Listed win and multiple stakes placings to her name overseas, is among the latest imports by owner Yulong to test Sydney’s carnival waters.

While the stable is still familiarizing itself with her, Kent Jnr says Sakti has been showing positive signs leading up to the race and is expected to perform well on rain-affected ground.

“We’re very happy with her at home but we’ve only just acquired her so we’ll learn more on Saturday,” Kent Jnr said.

“At her best, she’s well suited to this race.

“She handles soft ground well.

“She’s had nine starts, two wins, five seconds. Four of those second-place finishes were on soft tracks, so she handles it beautifully.”

While the rain forecast for Saturday doesn’t faze Sakti, it’s a different story for Gary Portelli’s Encap.

Encap struggled on heavy ground in last year’s All Aged Stakes, and Portelli is hoping the rain will be on the lighter side of the forecast.

Though nominated for the George Ryder Stakes (1500m) on Golden Slipper day, Portelli chose to wait for this weekend’s Doncaster Prelude (1500m), and now he wonders if he made the right choice.

“We kept him for this week but now I wish I’d run him last week, given that we’re likely to get a wet track,” Portelli said.

“If it becomes too heavy, we’ll probably pull him out.”

Portelli is still hopeful of getting Encap into the Doncaster Mile (1600m) on Saturday week. If Encap handles the conditions this weekend, Portelli believes he’ll be in contention.

“Nash Rawiller galloped him on Tuesday and was impressed by his recovery,” Portelli said.

“He’s drawn a good gate, and everything points to him running well.”

The winner of Saturday’s race will be exempt from a ballot and penalty for the Doncaster Mile.