It's not often Kylie Kennedy contests the biggest event of the year at her hometown of Narromine, but she's heading towards Sunday's Gold Cup with one of the major contenders.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The leading Narromine trainer will saddle up Wild Rocket for the $39,000 event and the mare is looking to provide Kennedy with her first win in the feature.
Someone who has had more success with sprinters in the past, Kennedy has already enjoyed some career highlights with Wild Rocket.
The now five-year-old mare contested this year's $500,000 Country Championships Final at Randwick but winning the biggest event on the Narromine Turf Club calendar would also be something special.
The only downside to the situation is there won't be any racegoers or owners trackside to celebrate the moment with.
READ ALSO:
The current lockdown in the Narromine local government area and surrounding regions means only essential personnel can attend the meeting and, while totally understandable of the situation, Kennedy admitted the decision is a real blow for the club and community.
"There's a few really new young people on the (Turf Club) committee. There's two of my sisters and they're trying to do new things and getting food vans and try to bring new and younger people in," Kennedy said.
"It is disappointing but it is what it is."
Wild Rocket heads into the Sunday's feature over 1600m after finishing seventh in the recent Forbes Cup, but Kennedy wasn't too disappointed by that result.
The race simply didn't play into Wild Rocket's favour as she drew inside and got stuck further forward in the field.
The mare's shown her best when she's able to sit deep and then be moved wide heading into the home straight before producing a powerful run to the post.
Things are looking better ahead of Sunday as Mathew Cahill will ride Wild Rocket from the extreme outside barrier.
Having things go a particular way for Wild Rocket is something Kennedy is used to, as she admits the mare isn't the easiest horse to deal with.
A renowned bad traveller who has a habit of kicking out, Wild Rocket also needs things done on her terms at home.
"She's not nice," Kennedy said with a laugh.
"She'll kick out or bite you. She's not a pleasant horse to train but when she's good and in a good mood she's an angel who's a delight to have.
"There's not too many of those days and she's a quirky girl and you just work around her.
"She's been like that since we got her. She's a very demanding horse."
Kennedy said partner Ricky Blewitt deserved plenty of credit for working with Wild Rocket so much, as often it's more than a one-person job in the lead-up to the races.
Given she can be hard to handle, she often produces her best results at home.
That plays in Kennedy's favour heading into Sunday and so too does the expected soft track, as Wild Rocket has shone on soft and heavy surfaces previously.
Wild Rocket has already earned Kennedy more than $125,000 in prize money and the trainer doesn't think the best of the mare has been seen yet.
The trainer expects her to be better still in 12 months' time, when she may be racing over 1800 or 2000m.
In the short term, a run in next month's $100,000 Dubbo Gold Cup (1600m) is also a possibility depending on how she runs and recovers after Sunday.
Wild Rocket was a $5.50 chance for the cup on Friday afternoon while From the Bush and Reward Seeker, who ran one-two at Forbes, were at $2.80 favouritism and $3 respectively.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
