Palaisipan back in race after redraw
CHRIS Munce was the only person with nothing to lose on Wednesday after the barrier draw for the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes descended into farcical scenes.
The champion jockey turned trainer was left kicking the kerb after his mare Palaisipan drew barrier 20 of 20 in the $1m feature in what turned out to be a redundant barrier draw after one of the marbles was mysteriously left out.
Faced with the prospect of starting from the carpark, Palaisipan’s chances were significantly boosted hours later when she was dealt barrier 11 in a redraw following significant blow-ups from connections of horses in the race.
“It couldn’t have been any worse, we did have 20 of 20,” Munce laughed.
“It ended up all right when she came into 11. I was speaking to some guys down there and they were telling me it looked bad, but we might have been able to get three-deep with cover rolling into the race.
“It’s all up to the jockey now with what happens with her.”
The tough-as-nails Palaisipan has flown under the radar without winning throughout the spring, hardly putting a foot wrong in her three starts to date.
After two starts in Sydney, Munce elected to bypass The Invitation and head to Melbourne early, where she was only beaten by the flying Chain Of Lightning in the Group 2 Tristarc at
Caulfield a fortnight ago.
While Tim Clark was in the saddle for her first-up run in Melbourne, the in-form Damian Lane returns on Saturday.
“She is a tough mare, she has done it all down the east coast now and aimed up in three states in Group 1’s, 2’s and 3’s and been close each time with five different jockeys,” Munce said.