Nigel Blackiston, left.
KEITH NOLAN CLASSIC
No Australian Guineas placegetter has even contested let alone won the Keith Nolan Classic (1600m), but Nigel Blackiston is intent on re-writing the record books with Australian Oaks-bound filly You're So Good.
Denied a maiden Group 1 at just her fourth start after charging home behind Ferlax, You're So Good is set to headline the Keith Nolan Classic when entries are released tomorrow.
The Victorian filly has created a huge impression since being nosed out by Alzora in the Group 3 Vanity last month, pushing Ferlax in an Australian Guineas a fortnight later, notable for the absence of stallion-in-the-making All Too Hard.
Blackiston, who honed his craft as a long-serving foreman to Bart Cummings before taking out his own licence, has opted to switch You're So Good's preparation to Sydney.
Bred along superb staying lines, You're So Good, a Savabeel filly out of Flying Spur mare Lightning Spur, will be the first horse to finish in the top three of the Australian Guineas to tackle the Keith Nolan Classic since the race's inception in 1999.
The Keith Nolan Classic - a Group 3 event with a total prize purse of $165,000 - will headline the Illawarra Turf Club's Sensational Sunday of racing on March 24.
The Mercury understands Sydney's premier trainer Chris Waller is set to nominate a quartet for the race being: Royal Descent, Jade Marauder, Hoybell and Wind Bender.
Jade Marauder was a close-up fifth behind Thy in Saturday's Aspiration Quality at Warwick Farm.
Astute horseman Grahame Begg has indicated recent mid-week runner-up Tigress Baby will be entered while Gai Waterhouse's Diamond Drille- which accounted for Tigress Baby last time - is also Kembla-bound.
Last year's Keith Nolan Classic featured just nine starters, the smallest number in the event's history. Outstanding Darley-owned galloper Appearance won the race before graduating to the ranks of Group 1 winners in the spring by the Myer Classic at Flemington.