Mighty Zou, with Reece Jones as his jockey, is aiming to build on two strong performances in shorter races at the start of his career. The four-year-old son of Zoustar finished just outside the placings in his last race at Tamworth, despite running wide the whole way. Before that, he had another solid run at Scone on a heavy track, closing in late to finish 2.4 lengths behind the leaders. These two efforts should have him well-prepared for the longer 1500m race.
Otium has shown mixed form on dry tracks but has come close to winning recently. Though lightly raced for a five-year-old, the son of British Group 3 winner Time Test showed good speed to finish third on a very heavy track at Taree, only tiring in the final 50m. A shorter race now seems perfect for him, especially if he gets a bit of luck from his wide starting position.
Hulu was set to race at Mudgee over the weekend, but her connections chose this race instead. The mare, sired by Showtime, put in a solid effort at Tamworth two weeks ago after a four-week break, finishing just outside the placings after a late run. She’s expected to improve in this shorter race and just needs to handle the dry track to be a strong contender.