Lakelsa may have to call on all of her star qualities in her Wyndham homecoming tomorrow.
The mare is back on her home patch for the newly minted Wyndham Champagne Stakes after stamping herself as one of New Zealand’s best mares with her brilliant summer form.
Two factors could stand between Lakelsa and a fairytale homecoming victory in the group 3 feature.
But trainer Regan Todd is only concerned about one of them: the 5-year-old’s barrier 9 draw.
"She could get buried on the fence is the worry," Todd said.
"If the better mares that are drawn out wide get into the running line, they could get their momentum up and be very hard to catch.
"Our mare is very fast, but she is going to need a little bit of luck.
‘‘She can’t be getting too far out of her ground.
While her fans may be concerned, Todd is not too worried about his mare’s last-start defeat at Addington.
Lakelsa was just over four lengths from a hardy type in Vessem when running fourth in what was her first outing for six weeks.
"Looking back after the race, she was fresh up and she ran a pretty decent lead time and she just got tired that last bit.
"We were hoping she would take good benefit from that run and her work this week has been very good."
Win, lose or draw, it is planned that Lakelsa will have a well-deserved spell with Wyndham owners Bruce and Al Sinclair following tomorrow’s race.
Todd also starts Betterthancash at Wyndham.
The trainer is hoping his pacer can get a little more luck after he ran on late in his last-start fourth in the Wyndham Cup.
"He began well in the Wyndham Cup but there were a heap of lead changes and he ended up out the back.
"He ran on quite well, he’s been staying down there since and the team has been happy with him.
"If he begins as good again and is handy enough to them he should go a pretty good race."
Todd also starts Aldebaran Crystal in a middle-grade trot.
