Jen Jaccka looks tough to bowl in the feature trot at Ascot Park this afternoon, but her trainer has a word of warning for punters.
The Brett Gray-trained mare has done a terrific job in her brief career, racking up four wins from 11 starts.
She meets a tidy field off a 10m handicap today but her win over Heard The Whisper at Winton late last month suggests there are plenty more wins to come.
‘‘It's still a nice enough field with plenty of experienced horses in there,'' the Ryal Bush-based Gray said.
‘‘One thing, though - she's a lot better over the bigger tracks than the 1000m tracks - that's the only concern. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with her.''
The half-sister to 2014 Dominion Trot winner Jaccka Justy has won at the 1000m Ascot Park track before but Gray said the 4-yr-old prefers the extra space afforded to the horses on tracks like the 1400m Winton track, where she has won three of her five starts.
‘‘She's a big mare and it's a little bit harder round the bends for her on a 1000m track. I think her Winton record is impeccable,'' he said.
‘‘But she's getting better and better as time goes on - and she's a lightly raced mare, to be fair.
‘‘She's coming through the grades, so we're aiming for that Super Series in February.''
Jen Jaccka has already qualified for the $23,500 Super Series final at Addington on February 12, thanks to two runs at Addington during New Zealand Cup week.
Gray also lines up the veteran Jaccka Jack in the same race and he warns punters not to rule out the 10yr-old, despite starting off 50m.
‘‘I tell you what, his work has been impeccable and I didn't think he went too bad at Omakau [finishing fourth on January 2],'' he said.
One of Gray's best chances appears to be Pavarotti in race 10, who handled the step into the c1 grade with aplomb at Winton on December 29.
His third to All Jokes Aside in a sub-2.00 mile rate continued his progression after a maiden win at Ascot Park a month earlier.
‘‘I gave him a couple of weeks out after he won that race and his manners are improving,'' Gray said.
‘‘They weren't even flash on his first win, but it was a bloody good third the other day - he came from a wee way back and I think he's really started to turn a corner manners wise and it's starting to show on the form.''
Moondyne Joe (race 6) and Machjagger (race 5) look like each-way chances despite awkward draws, although those draw dramas pale in comparison to Odette Jaccka's awful spot at 1 on the second line in race 9.
While she was 10th at Omakau on January 2, she was less than five lengths from Rainbow Romance after getting well back.
‘‘I'm really happy with her work and the way she is, but she's just got a horror draw. She's actually not a bad mare - she's better than what people think - but she's got to have one sort of crack at them. We're in a world of hurt, so we're planning on miracles there.''
Gray said he would leave driver Brent Barclay to come up with an extrication plan for Odette Jaccka.
‘‘They get no instructions from me. I always say if I'm giving them instructions, I should be out there myself, and I'm not good enough, so there you go.''
