Maher pair face off again in the Bletchingly Stakes

Recommendation will again be subjected to a small field when he heads to Caulfield in search of another Stakes success.

The Ciaron Maher -trained sprinter will be joined by Mrs Chrissie in the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Recommendation and Mrs Chrissie finished first and third respectively in the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on July 13.

That day there was a field of eight while seven are set to face the starter on Saturday.

Maher’s assistant trainer Jack Turnbull expects Mrs Chrissie to get closer to Recommendation this time around after finishing 7-½ lengths astern when they last met.

“She was enormous last time, and I would say it was a career peak there,” Turnbull said.

“It’s a similar race, similar conditions, a slight step up in distance, so I think she warrants a try and she’ll go into the race quite fresh.

“She’s a progressive horse. She’s just claimed her first Black Type placing, and she definitely warrants a crack at this race.”

Turnbull said the Maher team had been surprised with the ease of Recommendation’s first-up win in the Sir John Monash.

He said Recommendation went into that first-up run with just one jump-out under the belt.

“I don’t think you ever expect a horse to win a Group race by seven lengths, no matter the time of year, or the class but he ran a decent figure for him on our rating system,” Turnbull said.

“He came through that run better than we expected and Ciaron was the first to say that normally he would be a bit stiff and sore, so we kept him at Cranbourne, and he was bouncing come Tuesday.

“Early in the prep you would hope for that and maybe by the third or fourth run he might be a bit more taxed, but he came through it well.”

The track was rated a Soft 5 at acceptance time on Wednesday, although rain is forecast for Thursday, Friday with some showers on Saturday.

Recommendation showed with his last start victory he was able to handle cut in the ground.

“I still think he is better on top of the ground as Caulfield last time was playing fairly lane orientated, I thought, and he was in that spot,” Turnbull said.

“Maybe the margin was exaggerated by the track that day, but you still have to have the horse to do it and he certainly did that.”