Charlotte Littlefield has high hopes for The Muffin Man in Group 1 Queensland Derby
The withdrawals of Saint Emilio n and Eclair Encore on Wednesday, the latter to the contest the Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) also on Saturday at Eagle Farm, cleared the runway for The Muffin Man, the second emergency.
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'My frequent flyers are getting a work out at the moment,' Littlefield laughed.
'I'm getting a little bit over flying, but you got to do these things.'
Littlefield has been on 10 flights in as many days, shuttling primarily from Melbourne to Brisbane and back, since she returned from Europe last Monday week.
The Muffin Man is a $21 chance in the Queensland Derby.
'I'm happy with him, he had a really good solid hitout (Tuesday morning), that was very good work,' Littlefield said.
'We had the tracker on and that confirmed everything is spot on … his recovery, stride length, whether he got enough out of it, he certainly ticked all the boxes.
'We have a horse ready to go well and, to be honest, I think would be better on ground that is not bottomless.'
Poor visibility, compounded by heavy rain and mud splatter last Saturday, forced stewards, following consultation with jockeys, to abandon the Brisbane card after five races.
'We saw what they were coming in like after last Saturday, they were horrendously covered in mud and kickback, coming in like brown's cows,' Littlefield said.
'This week you'll see a fairer assessment … there is the question of a long time between runs (four weeks) but he's a naturally fit, athletic horse with good aerobic.
'We got to trust in the product and trust I've done enough work with him.'
Littlefield also has Regal Vow entered in the VOBIS Gold Mile (1600m) at Flemington.
'We have just been praying for rain with her, we just wanted a naturally softened track,' Littlefield said.
'We've had obviously a very dry summer and autumn, even with the irrigation on tracks it just wasn't getting them to a level she's comfortable running on.
'We're very happy with her, again a very naturally gifted horse aerobically … we're happy with how she's going Saturday, we feel like we've got little things ironed out now.
'It's coming to the end of her career, we'd like to go to the breeding barn with her, we own a large portion of her and we think she's a stunning looking mare, we're excited to give her a nice retirement in the breeding barn with us.'
Littlefield confirmed Big Swinger, a slashing winner last Saturday at Caulfield, has gone to the paddock to rest and prepare for the spring carnival.
'We're going to let the horse dictate from here and see where he ends up, but we're going to look after him,' Littlefield said.
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