The skies above and the surface below will tell the story for Ascot Park trainer Sally McKay in the New Zealand Bloodstock Pearl Series race at Gore today.
McKay has two strong chances in the $12,000 rating 65 1335m for fillies and mares, but much will depend on whether the track is downgraded from slow to heavy.
McKay is a huge fan of Indiana Pearl, which is easy to understand after the Battle Paint mare flew for second at Winton on October 11, following a strong campaign at the start of the year.
Resplendent is McKay's other representative in the equal-richest race on the eight-race card and is a leading chance, particularly if the track gets deeper.
''Out of the two horses, the one with the future is Indiana Pearl, but the way the track is at the moment, you can't rule this horse out at all,'' McKay said.
''She's got to be very tough.''
McKay does not want to waste Indiana Pearl on a track which does not suit, which is why she is prepared to scratch the 4yr-old.
''If it's got quite a bit of cut in it, I may look at pulling her out and taking her to Wingatui for a better surface, but she's a big strong filly and, hopefully, she's just got a bit more ringcraft this time,'' McKay said.
''I really rate the horse - it's just her brain. She's still learning. She's not the brightest cookie in the world.''
Only patchy rain fell around Gore yesterday and the wind might help the track from deteriorating further, giving Indiana Pearl a chance to start.
''It won't have got any worse but if we did get a lot of rain tomorrow, it's only early in her prep, so I'd take her out and put her on something she's more comfortable with,'' McKay said.
''She'll be way better once she gets up to a mile [1600m] or 2000m but mentally, she's not ready for that.''
McKay expected Resplendent would have been hard to beat at Winton, but not everything fell into place.
''I thought it would have been hard to beat at Winton on its work, but it was heavily in season, jumped out of the gates slowly and sprinted home extremely well,'' she said.
''I'm not concerned about the draw [barrier 14] because she gets back anyway and I'd rather her be out there so she can get one interrupted run.
McKay has been forced to put Letthethunderroll (race 4) into a 2000m race in order to get a start, but has adjusted the mare's work accordingly.
''I actually rate the horse and think it will get one quickly.''
McKay rates Conquering Kenny (race 3) as the best of her other runners.
