Jockey Damian Lane is confident nine-time Group One winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed) can bounce back to her best in Saturday’s A$5 million Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) after impressing in a track gallop at Breakfast with the Best at The Valley on Tuesday morning.
The New Zealand-bred six-year-old finished fourth in the Gr.1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) won by Incentivise, a sub-par performance by her lofty standards.
“She’ll be right, she’s a champion, and she won’t stay down for too long,” Lane told Racing.com.
“She seems to have come through her Turnbull run in good order and I’m happy with where she’s at ahead of Saturday.”
Verry Elleegant at times appeared a tad keen during a piece of work with stablemate Djukon on Saturday, but after this morning’s solo gallop Lane is happy with where the horse is at.
“She was very good Saturday, she worked with a mate, she got very keen,” he said.
“Today was more of a maintenance gallop, but I thought she was in even better order today.
“Certainly a thumbs up from this morning.”
The Chris Waller-trained mare should be suited by barrier 9 in the select field of 10 for the Cox Plate, with the daughter of Zed, who is raced by a number of Kiwis including her breeder Don Goodwin and original trainer Nick Bishara, rated a $7 chance of landing the spoils.
