Kimochi (Brave Smash) will line up in Saturday’s Group 1 All-Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick in search of a second career Group 1 victory.
The four-year-old mare, trained by Gary Portelli for Yulong, made her Group 1 breakthrough in last year’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) and has returned in strong form this campaign.
She resumed with a fast-finishing second in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) and followed that effort with a game fifth behind Briasa in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) on April 5.
“She’s come through the run (in the TJ Smith) well and she’s in good order,” Portelli said.
“It’s a perfect preparation, she had a month between runs from first-up to second-up and two weeks to the third-up run. I’m pretty happy with her but it’s a pretty tough race.”
Kimochi will be stepping back up to her pet trip of 1400 metres, a distance that delivered her biggest win to date, as she attempts to take down a high-quality All-Aged Stakes field.
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