Confidence boost brings Miss Layla right into contention
Matt Markham - Raceform • December 30th, 2024 12:18 PM
Raceform
Anna Furlong has had to come to the realisation over the past few months that her talented galloper Miss Layla might not quite be up to taking on the best of the best.
But a change in focus with the five-year-old mare has welcomed new opportunities in which she can flourish as her Riccarton trainer carefully maps out a less daunting programme of racing.
Furlong has always held a high opinion of the mare and she’s been given the opportunity to test herself against some good fields, but up until a good third at Ashburton prior to Christmas, not much was going right.
Given she’d been seen in races like the TAB (Coupland’s) Mile and the Spring Classic prior to Ashburton, her return to form behind Treybon when finishing a bold third should have come as no surprise.
“She’s got her fair share of talent, but we’re not quite as convinced these days that she’s an open handicap horse, so it’s a case of finding the right races for her,” Furlong told RaceForm.
“It hasn’t all been her fault, she’s been thwarted by a fair few bad barriers and not a lot of luck but getting her back in grade is a great chance to get her confidence levels back up and be in races where she can be a lot more competitive.”
That outlook has found the daughter of Burgundy bound for Riverton and Wednesday’s Carrier Arms Hotel Summer Cup, which will run alongside the rescheduled Dynes Transport Tapanui Cup from last week’s abandoned Gore meeting.
“We felt it was a nice option. The step up in ground is ideal and it’s not an overly strong race. Initially we did look at the Timaru Cup, but I’m pleased we decided not to go there because it has come up as a very strong race.”
Furlong said Miss Layla had come through her Ashburton run in fine fettle and was heading south “as well as she can be” for the $30,000 assignment.
“I’d like to think she’s a good winning chance in that field. It certainly looks like a good race for her and if she runs up to her best she won’t be too far away.”
In-form jockey Yogesh Atchamah has been booked to ride the mare – another tick in the right column according to Furlong.
“He is riding incredibly at the moment, so we’re happy to have him on board,” Furlong said.
Miss Layla will be the sole representative from Champagne Racing at the Riverton meeting, with a big team destined for the Kurow meeting two days earlier.
“We’ve got six heading to Kurow but Miss Layla looked better suited at Riverton, so that’s why she’s going there.”
Another Burgundy mare, Tanzanite Rose, will fly the stable flag in Monday’s Kurow Cup, having her third start for the stable since arriving from the North Island.
Furlong has made a strong start to her career as a solo trainer after taking over the outright training of the stable at the start of the season when Shane Kennedy stepped away, and she’s now closing in on her 200th training success with 178 wins on the board, 11 of them this season at a strike-rate of 6.91.
Picture at the Top of the Page: Miss Layla has a big role to play for trainer Anna Furlong in the Carrier Arms Hotel Summer Cup at Riverton on New Year’s Day. Photo: Supplied
