Leading Queensland trainer Tony Brett looks to have a formidable team lining up in tomorrow's bumper meeting at Albion Park.
Brett has stayers More In Store and Luna Jinx lining up in the heats of the Group 1 Gold Cup (710m), while recent Richmond Riches winner Thirty Talks will tackle the heats of the listed Flying Amy series (520m).
Former NSW stayer More In Store made the move to Brett's kennel last week and the trainer is happy with what he seen so far.
"She came back with me two weeks ago from Mark Gatt's kennel, so I haven't had much of a chance to work with her," Brett said.
"She's settled in nicely and having her here for a few weeks before the race should help her."
More In Store will line up in the fourth and final heat of the night (race eight) from box seven and Brett thinks her chances are very good.
"I trialled her over the 600m at the track last Thursday and she went really nicely,” he said.
"I was really happy with the run and the best part was her last sectional so the 700m isn't going to be a problem for her.”
Brett's other hope in the heats is four year old veteran Luna Jinx who will jump from box eight in heat three (race seven).
"She's an old war-horse and has been around a lot of these big Group races throughout her career," Brett said.
"She was up here for this exact same race last year. I unfortunately had to scratch her the day before the final due to injury so hopefully she'll get her chance this time around.
"She'll need a bit luck being a back-marker but I think there's a bit of speed in the race so it might suit her a bit. I expect she might be back a bit and then get the sit on them for the last 100m or so."
Other big names will that will make the trip up to Albion Park on Thursday night include the Anthony Azzopardi-trained No Donuts, recent Group 1 Sandown Cup winner Bells Are Ringing and Group 1 Association Cup winner Lioness Lulu.
While the Gold Cup heats are the highlight of the card, attention will also focus on Brett's kennel-star Thirty Talks in heat one of the Flying Amy Classic (race one).
“He pulled up really well and handled the trip home excellently," Brett said.
"We've given him a quiet week since Saturday night so he should be good to go tomorrow."
Thirty Talks will jump from box two and Brett hopes to see him improve in the early stages of the race.
"He just chases so well and you know if he can get himself into a good position, he's going to be somewhere there near the finish. He showed that on Saturday," he said.
"He'll need to jump better than he did at Richmond where he missed the kick because you're not going to get that good run on the inside all the time, so he needs to work on that.
"We've done plenty of box work with him but there's only so much I can do. It's really up to him after I put him the box. When you're up against a tougher class of dog, he can't afford to be making those mistakes."
"After this series I'll probably ease off him for a few weeks and then we'll target the Group 1 Winter Cup."
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