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Embrace The Rock can bounce back from a first up defeat in a 1400m Maiden Plate at Sandown on Wednesday.
The David Hayes and Tom Dabernig-trained filly resumed off a two start maiden campaign at Ballarat last start where she was rolled as favourite when finishing fourth over 1200m.
Embrace The Rock on that occasion travelled three wide with no cover throughout and while she loomed large on straightening, lacked the necessary acceleration to strike.
Beaten a long neck, it was a fair enough display by the daughter of Fastnet Rock who was already looking like a filly desperate for further than the 1200m of her first up assignment.
She gets it here with the 1400m of the Follow The @WillHillWolf on Twitter Plate at Sandown on Wednesday.
After one scratching, she lines up in a field of ten where even on her last start rating, she rates as one of the two main chances.
It should be noted however the filly possesses a master Timeform rating of 92, achieved when closing strongly late in her second career outing at Caulfield when third behind Kaizaen and subsequent Thousand Guineas winner Amicus.
Her first up outing returned a Timeform rating of 72 which suggests there is substantial room for improvement second run from a spell.
She has drawn favourably and is reunited with in form jockey Michael Walker who has ridden 59 winners for the Hayes-Dabernig stable this season at a strike rate of 19%.
The half sister of Arapaho Miss holds a feature entry for the Autralian Oaks and if connections are to harbour ambitions at a Group 1 tilt in the autumn, Embrace The Rock needs to be winning here.
Embrace The Rock’s main danger is Keep The Klass who actually ran by Embrace The Rock over the final stages at Ballarat 13 days ago.
The daughter of Keeper has placed in each of her two runs this campaign and showed solid improvement from her first up to second up outing.
She will be hard to hold out particularly if she can continue her upward ratings trend.
The filly returned a master Timeform of 77 last preparation when second at Warracknabeal over a mile so the rise to 1400m here should also be of benefit to the Darren Weir-trained runner.
After this pair, Any Glory and Sense In The City shape as value players.
Any Glory has placed in his past two outings, the latest at Benalla over 1206m.
He should be around peak fourth run from a spell and carries nothing on his back after the 3kg claim of Jessica Payne.
Sense In The City was fair on resuming at Mornington.
The Pat Carey-trained filly will take benefit from the run and can at least fill a minor placing.
She may be hard pressed however to win if the likes of Embrace The Rock and Keep The Klass are at the top of their games.
Expect these two fillies to be fighting out the finish although it is the David Hayes and Tom Dabernig-trained Embrace The Rock who on ratings has the edge in Race 2 at Sandown on Wednesday.
