Image: Bradley Photos
Light Fingers Stakes winner Savvy Hallie didn’t miss a beat for her duel with three-year-old Tempted.
Smart Hallie controlled the Light Fingers Stakes from the front, but trainer Brad Widdup is happy to leave the tactics to experienced jockey Nash Rawiller for her Group 1 clash with star filly Tempted in the Surround Stakes at Randwick.
Although the three-year-old seems the obvious leader in the select field of eight, Widdup is not discounting a rival who will throw a spanner in the works and if he does, he is confident both horse and rider will adapt.
“I’ll leave it to Nash. You never know, maybe someone wants to go a little hard this time,” Widdup said.
“We can only worry about ourselves, and we are very happy with her. She has had a trouble-free preparation, so fingers crossed she can continue.”
Savvy Hallie has reached barrier six in the select field of eight, which is led by Everest runner-up Tempted, Flight Stakes winner Apocalyptic and Thousand Guineas heroine Ole Dancer, who is making her Sydney debut.
Adding to the intrigue is the forecast for rain, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting anywhere between 3mm and 60mm over the next few days.
Both ends of the spectrum will be good for Widdup, with Savvy Hallie having proven himself on good and tough ground.
Although the trainer has not previously won a Surround Stakes (1400m), he was at Crown Lodge during the success of Portillo (2009) and Parables (2011) and felt Savvy Hallie had proven she was in a similar class.
“Portillo was a good two-year-old and trained further. Parables came later. But I think Savvy Hallie is definitely in their form,” he said.
“You never get too carried away in these types of races, but it’s great to have a really good chance.
“She hasn’t backed down and you’d like to think she should be competitive.”
Tempted was marked as the $1.60 favorite shortly after the fields were released Wednesday, ahead of Apocalyptic at $4.20, with Ole Dancer ($8.50) and Savvy Hallie ($9.50) the only other runners at single-digit odds.
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