Mudgway aim for Eileen

Even if Eileen Dubh does surprise her trainer and part-owner Francis Finnegan at Te Rapa tomorrow, she won't be returning to the course for a stakes assignment later this month.

Eileen Dubh, winner of the Gr I Levin Classic at Otaki last November, will kick off the Taumarunui Racing Club's meeting when she contests the first event, the Patrons Three-Year-Old Premier, a race which could fit in nicely with a tilt at the Gr III  Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa a fortnight later.

But Finnegan has other plans for the daughter of Storm Creek.

''She'll be a huge chance in a race like the Mudgway Stakes at Hastings,'' Finnegan said.

''She won't run again until then. She will trial either at Cambridge or Otaki as a leadup to that and she'll probably trial in blinkers.

''I've been itching to put blinkers on her. She takes a bit to reach full speed and the blinkers will make her click on better. I put them on in her work before the [New Zealand] Oaks and they worked.''

Eileen Dubh finished sixth in the Gr I Oaks (2400m) at Trentham in March and in one further start last campaign she was a game third behind runaway winner Time Keeper in the Gr III Manawatu Classic (2000m) at Awapuni on April 3.

''She had a few issues after the Manawatu Classic and she had a week at Marks Ewen  [veterinary clinic at Matamata] then she had five or six weeks on Tony Bambry's water treadmill.

''I've put a lot more work into her this time than when she kicked off last year. It wasn't until after the Gold Trail Stakes that she caught up last year.''

Eileen Dubh encountered a slow track fresh-up in the Listed Wanganui Fillies Classic  last year when finishing third. She then split St Germaine and Katie Lee when second in the Gr III Gold Trail Stakes, after which she was prepared for the Gr I 1000 Guineas with a trials win at Woodville.

Finnegan has again used a Woodville trial in Eileen Dubh's preparation this campaign, the result being a nose win over 1000m on a slow track when ridden by Bambry's daughter, Samantha.

''She caught me by surprise in the trial,'' Finnegan said.

''Though she didn't win by much she bolted home under a strong hold. I knew she was well, but I didn't expect her to win like that.

''The plan was to settle her last and let her run home a bit, but at the 600m she was running away from her [Bambry]. She did it so easily.''

On the strength of that trials win, a successful return to racing tomorrow may not seem out of order, but Finnegan said he would be surprised if she triumphed fresh-up.

''She's got 59kg and that's going to make it very hard for her,'' he said.

''She's got to give away a lot of weight. There's plenty of speed in the race and she'll get back in midfield and hopefully be running on.

''I won't be disappointed if she doesn't win. I've left plenty to work with and I've got a month to get her ready for her main race, the Mudgway Stakes.

''She's really strengthened. She's developed a big crest and is a strong animal now. Jonathan [Riddell, jockey] was surprised when he saw her.''

Riddell has been Eileen Dubh's regular rider since the Gold Trail Stakes and he made a trip from Palmerston North to Woodville to ride her in work on Tuesday.

''We left her a bit to do in her work,'' said Finnegan yesterday.

''She gave her mate a start and Jonathan gave her a few slaps on her shoulder to keep her up to the mark. It was good work and she has a breeze-up over two furlongs [400m] this morning.''

Finnegan plans to start Eileen Dubh in the first two legs of the Hawke's Bay triple crown but hasn't even entered her for the final leg, the Gr I Spring Classic [formerly the Kelt Capital Stakes].

''Even though she went good races over ground last year, I believe she is a sprinter-miler,'' Finnegan said.

''I've love to go for the Telegraph Handicap with her. The plan is to run her the first two days at Hastings then go to Hawera and put her out and get her ready for the Telegraph.

''I'm hopeful of having Zarius in the last leg at Hastings. He's done a hell of a lot of work and I'm just having trouble finding a suitable mile race for him as a leadup.''

- © Fairfax NZ News