Warwick Farm trainer Jason Coyle expects to learn a whole lot more about his lightly-raced mare White Moss at Randwick this Saturday.
White Moss faces the daunting task of beating Ron Quinton's high-class mares Dixie Blossoms and Daysee Doom in the Group III Nivison (1200m) – her first run in stakes company.
To make matters even more difficult, the set weights and penalties parameter means White Moss will forego up to 10kg of weight relief for which she would be entitled under handicap conditions.
But Coyle firmly believes the grey four-year-old has earned a crack at black type status, having won four of her last five outings.
"Her record suggests she's ready to at least test the water," Coyle said.
"We didn't accept for the benchmark 88 race so hopefully she vindicates that decision.
"The beauty of it is that even if she runs a nice race without winning she'll still be eligible to come back to benchmark racing."
And if White Moss happens to topple Dixie Blossoms and Daysee Doom, then it would be fair to say that Coyle could have a potentially top-class mare on his hands.
"I think if you're going to elect to go to stakes level you have to expect to bump into some handy horses," Coyle said.
"If she was able to knock them over in the vein of form they're in, and under those conditions, I think we could get a bit more serious with her.
"We're pretty confident she'll at some stage graduate to that level. It may or may not be Saturday given the form Ron's horses are in but given the way she races and how honest she is you wouldn't expect her to be too far away."
White Moss' last start produced a courageous win first-up over 1100m after being trapped three-wide on the speed throughout.
"She was sitting deep but was comfortable within herself. I thought Kathy (O'Hara) did a great job keeping her in her comfort zone – that was probably the difference," Coyle said.
"But she came through the run well. She's had 2-1/2 weeks to recover and her work since has been spot on.
"Taking away the old second-up syndrome I expect her to run well. "
Coyle will also saddle up resuming stakes placegetter Siren's Fury in the race.
"It's a nice starting point for her. She'll appreciate getting out to seven and eight furlongs," Coyle said.
Online bookmaker Ladbrokes has firmed White Moss from $11 into $7 since final field betting commenced while Siren's Fury is quoted at $51.
