Headliner: All Too Hard is a short-priced favourite to win the Australian Guineas at Flemington on Saturday. Photo: Jenny Evans
THE only reservation against Australia's two best three-year-old colts not adding to their already imposing winning records in Sydney and Melbourne on Saturday could be having to contend with a rain-affected track.
With the opposition appearing manageable for All Too Hard in the Australian Guineas at Flemington and Pierro (Hobartville Stakes, Rosehill), only heavy rain could prove their undoing.
All Too Hard's co-trainer, Wayne Hawkes, said he was pleased the rain that had saturated parts of Victoria this week had finally begun to abate.
''We had a lot of rain out at Flemington and you wouldn't want to see the track become very wet,'' he said.
Flemington was rated a dead 4 late on Thursday, and the forecast is for fine conditions.
In Sydney, the track is also a dead 4, but more rain is forecast on Friday and the weekend. Trainer Gai Waterhouse would prefer a dry track for the return to racing of two-year-old triple crown winner Pierro.
Hawkes is confident All Too Hard - a long odds-on favourite in early markets - will successfully back up from last Saturday's win in the group 1 Futurity Stakes and add the Australian Guineas to his resume.
''I wish we had drawn a single-figure barrier, but we didn't, so we have to go with it. In the end it will be up to [jockey] Dwayne Dunn to work it out,'' he said.
''We didn't need a wide gate like 14, but apart from all of that we couldn't be happier. I just hope we don't get any more rain.''
Pierro, who is unbeaten in Sydney, will not have the blinkers on for his autumn return. ''He is a much more mature horse and might not need them,'' Waterhouse said.
''I always have the option of putting them back on him. He is going to eventually go to stud and there can be a knock on a horse if he wears blinkers in Europe. He is an outstanding horse and I'm sure he can be just as impressive without them.''
Pierro's autumn campaign starts almost a year to the day since winning the Silver Slipper, in a preparation that netted him wins in Sydney's three group 1 juvenile classics.
The son of Lonhro is already a sought-after stallion prospect, but owner Greg Kolivos wants to enjoy his racing career before worrying about sealing a future at stud.
All Too Hard - Pierro's conqueror in the Caulfield Guineas in the spring - has already been syndicated for more than $20 million.
''The Slipper is the race you want to win to be a stallion in Australia, and he [Pierro] did that and then became the only colt in 30 years to win the triple crown,'' Waterhouse said.
''It shows how exceptional he is. [A stud deal] is something we have to be aware of going forward and it makes us think about where we will go with him. This race will tell us a lot about what program we will take against a very good year of three-year-olds. It is going to be exciting to see these horses all meet … we know Pierro is up with the very best of them.''
Waterhouse has timed Pierro's return to have him at his peak for a possible return clash with All Too Hard in the Randwick Guineas in a fortnight.
The two top colts have met four times and the record is two apiece - Pierro taking honours in the Sires' Produce and Run To The Rose in Sydney, and All Too Hard beating him home in the Caulfield Guineas and Cox Plate in Melbourne.
Waterhouse has been delighted with reports from Pierro's track rider this week. ''He says he knows when [Pierro] is ready to go to the races because he starts squealing,'' she said. ''This week, as he has gone on and off the track, he has been squealing. His regular rider just said to me, 'He's ready'.''
Waterhouse will also start her exciting prospect Proisir in the Hobartville. ''Both owners were happy to go to this race and it will decide a lot about where they go from here,'' she said. ''They are two lovely horses … Pierro is probably a bit ahead of Proisir on what they have done on the track.''
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