Glory Days right on target for Sydney Cup

[Chief Stipe]

Glory Days is doing everything right in the countdown to next week’s Sydney Cup.

The Auckland Cup winner’s trainer Bill Thurlow decided against another start in the five weeks between runs, but has made sure she has been kept up to the mark.

“She’s got through plenty of work, including a jumpout at Waverley on Friday,” Thurlow told www.theinformant.co.nz. “Kevin (Myers) brought through a nice bunch of horses and we had a good hitout from the top of the straight over about 2200 metres.

“She’s really well, I’m very happy with her. To top her off I’m hoping they’ll give me permission for a gallop between races at Wanganui on Thursday.

“She’s nice and fit and once she’s had a day out at Wanganui that’ll be pretty much us I’d say.”

Thurlow has booked Glory Days on a flight to Sydney next Tuesday and will stable her with former Taranaki horseman Richard Litt at Warwick Farm.

“That’s the best option for her, somewhere that’s a bit quieter than Randwick,” he said. “She’s a country girl and if there’s one query with her it’s how she’ll cope in a much busier environment.”

Local lightweight Corey Brown, who rode a double at Rosehill on Saturday, is engaged for the Sydney Cup mount. Due to the Auckland Cup being run at set weights and penalties, Glory Days escaped a rehandicap off her original allotment of 51 kilos, although with a current topweight of only 55.5kg it is anticipated that all weights will be raised.

Meanwhile tentative Australian plans for Thurlow’s New Zealand Oaks runner-up Beyond The Fort have been scrapped in favour of domestic racing.

“I had thought about heading to Adelaide with her,” Thurlow added. “There’s a couple of nice races that would have suited her over there, but the owners would prefer to stay local.

“There’s not a lot left around for three-year-olds, so the obvious race for her will be the Warstep Stakes at Riccarton (on April 13).”

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