‘Surprise packet’ in audition for $1m race
Rising star Ekaterina will be auditioning for a shot at a $1m race when she resumes at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Ekaterina, the four-year-old youngster half-sister of Rob Heathcote’s Group 1 winner Startantes, turned plenty of heads with a series of wins during the Queensland winter carnival which marked her as one of the most promising horses in the state.
She resumes in a BM85 Handicap (1200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday where bookies have marked her as a $4.20 chance to return with a winning bang.
Heathcote has one eye on the future with Ekaterina and has earmarked the $1m Silver Eagle (1300m) on The Everest day at Randwick on October 14 as her probable next port of call.
“This is a vital run for her on Saturday because a good performance here and I will take her down to Sydney and run her in the Silver Eagle on Everest day,” Heathcote said.
“Then she would go to Melbourne, there is a lovely 1400m mares race on Melbourne Cup day that I'd love to win.”
Heathcote, a 12-time Group 1 winner, has trained hundreds of elite horses but admits he is still ensure how good Ekaterina is.
He believes she could potentially be top level after her rapid rise to prominence.
“I'm 100 per cent honest when I say this – I simply don't know how good she is,” Heathcote said.
“She is a little surprise packet.
“We placed her well in the winter carnival and just chased the dollars.
“She has won $560,000 in prizemoney and she's yet to run in an Open Quality race.”
Heathcote’s confidence in Ekaterina – a daughter of Russian Revolution – was enhanced after watching her in a barrier trial at Doomben last month.
Ekaterina finished a close-up second behind Group 1 winner Uncommon James in the 840m heat.
“The old saying is that a good two-year-old has to find three lengths to be a good three year old – and a good three-year-old has to find three lengths to be a good four-year-old,” Heathcote said.
“I think she has.
“I think in her first trial against Uncommon James, she matched it with him. “
Apprentice Bailey Wheeler will ride Ekaterina on Saturday, with Heathcote keen to use his three-kilogram claim to advantage.
