Ken Casellas | Photo: Hamilton Content Creators
Outstanding mare Nevermindthechaos was dogged by bad luck in the Empress Stakes last week, and she gets an ideal opportunity to return to the winning list when she starts from the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line in the $26,000 Garrard’s Free-For-All for mares at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
“If anything else could’ve gone wrong, it would’ve,” said trainer Michael Young. “There wasn’t much left that she could have ticked off from the go-wrong list. She seems to find bother when she shouldn’t. It doesn’t help that she is so trigger happy.”
Nevermindthechaos was checked and broke into a gallop just after the field raced out of the front straight the second time — as a result of the staggered effect when the pace slackened — and she lost several lengths before Gary Hall Jnr dashed her forward to move into the breeze.
She was still in second place when she met interference in the closing stages and Hall was dislodged from the sulky.
Young is confident that Nevermindthechaos has the ability to overcome the outside barrier and win the 2130m event this week. “She drops a long way in class and we will be going forward — to lead or breeze, and she should go 1.55, and if that is good enough she should win,” he said.
“She is better off leading or breezing, where she can run her own race.”
Adding interest to the race will be the first appearance in Western Australia of Sydney mare Machs Legacy, who has raced 47 times for eight wins, 17 seconds and three thirds. She will start from the No. 4 barrier and will be driven by Jack Callaghan for Menangle trainer Cameron Ross.
At her most recent start Machs Legacy began from barrier seven, was restrained to the rear and battled on, out wide, to finish fifth behind Loubowski over 1609m at Menangle on March 4. She revealed good gate speed from the No. 2 barrier, but raced without cover when second to Far Out Bro over 1609m at Newcastle at her previous outing.
Machs Legacy has led and won at Wagga (twice), Menangle, Penrith and Newcastle, but she is generally regarded as a sit-sprinter.