Broadways Best will kick off her 6YO season in Friday night's Golden Wattle Cup at Tabcorp Park
Gun mare Broadways Best kicks off what trainer Shannon McLean thinks could be a career-defining season in Friday night’s $20,000 Harness Breeders Vic Golden Wattle Cup at Melton’s Tabcorp Park.
The Gisborne South trainer concedes the four-time Group 1 winner has the job ahead against some fellow top-liners at her first run for four-and-a-half months, but is confident it could prove the launching pad to a successful Grand Circuit career for the six-year-old.
“We’ve protected her the last couple of seasons and now I think it’s time for her to step up,” McLean said of this year’s Ladyship Mile winner.
“We think the next two seasons are going to be her window to step up and see how good a horse she really is.
“She’s done everything else that we’ve asked of her over the last couple of seasons so she’ll finally get in with the boys and go from there.”
McLean hopes to get an invite to the $500,000 Group 1 SEW-Eurodrive Miracle Mile (1609m), at Menangle on November 26, with the daughter of Village Jasper, a winner of 22 of her 39 starts at $483,604 in stakes.
Broadways Best hasn’t been seen at the races since the Group 1 Queen Of The Pacific, when she failed to overcome a 20m handicap in the race won by Life Inthefastlane, but McLean reported that she had done well during her spell.
She has been fitted up for her return to the races, where champion reinsman Chris Alford will again be her pilot, with solid trials at Bendigo and Kilmore.
“She’s had two trials which have both been wins and I’ve been very happy with her times and the way she pulled up,” he said.
“The first one at Bendigo she ran her last half in 55 (seconds), which I thought was pretty good, and then at Kilmore I think they went 1:58 for the mile so, it was another good solid hit out for her.”
McLean said Broadways Best had the job this week from barrier 10 over 1720m against race-fit Group 1 performers Make Mine Cullen (barrier 11), Pacific Playgirl (seven) and Ananz (five), but said her brilliant first-up record gives him hope.
“I don’t know if she can resume with a win, I’d like to think that we could, but the only box that’s not ticked is race fitness and a couple of other mares have obviously been racing and racing well, like Make Mine Cullen and Pacific Playgirl,” McLean said.
“If anything they might have a little bit of an advantage on her, but she always goes well fresh – I think she’s won her last three or four first-up – which is a pretty good indication of how well she goes.”
The Harness Breeders Vic Golden Wattle Cup is Race 7 on a bumper nine-event card, which also includes the rescheduled $50,000 Group 2 Melton Plate, and will be run at 9.42pm.
