Malua Racing chase consecutive stable The Coast victories with progressive mare Lady In Pink
Co-trainer Will Larkin is convinced progressive mare Lady In Pink will be an even better horse in the spring so winning Saturday's Listed $500,000 The Coast (1600m) at Gosford would be a significant bonus.
Lady In Pink is 'not quite there yet' mentally but continues to perform at a high level and gets her chance to bank a lucrative payday in Gosford's stand-alone event for three and four-year-olds.
Malua Racing, run by Leon and Troy Corstens and Will Larkin, claimed last year's The Coast with Magnaspin when the race was staged at Newcastle and will head to the Central Coast with another leading contender this weekend.
'It's a race that kind of popped up at the right time,' Larkin said.
'We never really set out a preparation for her this time in. We wanted to give her a good spell this time in after going deep into the summer with her.
'It was just a matter of when she told us she was ready to go to the races and then go run-by-run.
'The Coast has come up at the right time and is restricted to three and four-year-olds over a mile.
'We managed to win the race last year with Magnaspin so thought we would try again.'
Bookies have Lady In Pink as an equal $8 second pick in pre-final field betting with Country Championships hero Know Thyself an outright $3 favourite.
Lady In Pink will be racing in her third state this preparation after she was last seen finishing a narrow runner-up in Adelaide's Group 2 Queen Of The South (1600m) at Morphettville.
The daughter of Pariah already has a feature win to her name as a Group 2 winner in the Tristarc Stakes during the spring while she was placed in both the Group 3 Matriarch Stakes and Listed Ballarat Cup near the end of the carnival.
'She was so gallant in defeat through the spring and a Ballarat Cup, which is a good race, and then she was stiff not to win last week,' Larkin said.
'She gave the winner 3.5kgs and she just touched her off late so it just shows, she is going really well.
'She is only four and keeps improving and I think whatever we see this prep, we are going to see an even better horse in the spring.
'Mentally she is not quite there and still has a bit to learn so what she is doing right now is a bonus.'
There were 24 nominations for this year's The Coast with the final field released on Wednesday morning alongside the Listed $300,000 Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) and Listed $250,000 Takeover Target Stakes (1200m).
Stablemate Umgawa has been nominated for the Takeover Target but won't come to Sydney while last year's The Coast winner Magnaspin was nominated to run at Caulfield but the stable will save the gelding for another day.
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