Circumstances dictate start at Moonee Valley races

A backup plan has been enacted for Nellie Leylax, with the imported galloper now set to remain in Melbourne and race at Moonee Valley this Saturday.

Originally dual accepted for the weekend’s racing, Nellie Leylax will line up in the Travis Harrison Cup (2040m) instead of the Premier’s Cup Prelude (1800m) at Randwick, where he sits sixth on the emergency list.

Trainer Annabel Archibald admitted the heavy Sydney surface would have suited the horse ideally but the logistics of waiting for a possible late scratching proved too difficult.

“I was hoping to send him to Sydney because he absolutely loves bottomless ground, but he’s sixth emergency, so he’ll stay here,” Archibald said.

“His form has been consistent, but all his form in Europe has been on bottomless ground, so if we can get him on that sort of ground, he’s vastly superior.

“But being sixth emergency in Sydney, you can’t wait to Saturday morning to make that call as he’s stabled here.

“He’s got a light weight on Saturday and if he can roll along up on the pace, I’d like to think he’s the type of horse that will suit The Valley.”

Nellie Leylax has been consistent across four Australian starts since arriving from the UK, where he won five races.

He faced the starter most recently at Flemington over 2000m on July 19 and finished fourth behind Sayedaty Sadaty—who he’ll meet again at The Valley.

“He’s a horse that races up on speed,” Archibald explained.

“He’s a genuine, tough, one-paced horse that we thought would be good to try The Valley with.

“I thought his run was good last start at Flemington. He was coming again on the line.

“It’s his first preparation here, having come from overseas, and he looks a nice horse.”

Joining him will be I Am The Empire, another stable runner who contests the Donnellans The Tyreman Handicap (2500m).

That galloper was rewarded with a bold all-the-way win over 2400m at Sandown last time out on July 30.

“He’s hard to catch but when he’s on song like that, he’s a nice genuine horse,” Archibald noted.