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Wilderness, the $2.4 million brother to Starspangledbanner, will run in a special barrier trial after the last race at Canterbury on Wednesday to resolve plans for his weekend race debut.
The unraced David Hayes-trained two-year-old was among the big batch of youngsters to miss out on trials at Rosehill on Tuesday after the session was called off after 10 heats after jockeys became concerned about the condition of the track following heavy rain.
Wilderness needed to trial to gain his ‘ticket’ to race in the NSW and ACT after Hayes had sent him to Sydney with the intention of kicking off his career this weekend at either Warwick Farm on Saturday or Canberra on Sunday.
After the Rosehill trials were abandoned the Hayes stable made enquiries about have Wilderness included in a set of official trials scheduled for Kembla Grange on Wednesday morning, only to learn they had been put back to Thursday due to wet track conditions.
Hayes was resigned to having to send Wilderness back to Victoria where he could race at Flemington on Saturday without the need for an officlal trial before the ATC offered a solution to his dilemma.
Late on Tuesday the ATC gave Hayes and the trainers of another 14 youngsters affected by the washout at Rosehill the opportunity to run their two-year-olds in a specially convened trial after the last race at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Hayes and four other two-year-olds have taken up the Canterbury trial offer.
Wilderness is nominated for the $125,000 Lonhro Plate at Warwick Farm on Saturday and the $250,000 Black Opal Stakes at Canberra on Sunday.