4 days ago
2
Craig Kerry
March 26, 2026 — 5:00pm
Idle Flyer is carrying most of Warwick Farm trainer Matthew Smith’s Sydney autumn carnival hopes and he expects her to do it well on Saturday and beyond despite a disrupted preparation and first-up disappointment for punters.
The four-year-old Dundeel mare heads to the group 2 Emancipation Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill after finishing fourth, one and a half lengths from winner Gangsta Granny, first-up in the Wenona Girl Quality (1200m) on March 7.
She was a $2.30 favourite and looked to have every chance, but Smith was far from disappointed.
“I thought it was good,” Smith said.
“It’s not her distance 1200, and as they get up in grade, those 1200s are harder to win, unless they are extra sharp.
“She’s more of a 1400-miler, so I thought it was a bloody good run. I didn’t have the expectation that she’d win that. I thought she’d run well, which she did.
“We had a trial to just keep her up to the mark, and she’s been good. She’s trained on nicely and she’s ready to go.”
Idle Flyer rattled through the grades in the spring, with three wins and a second, capped with victory in the group 3 Angst Stakes (1600m), before finishing last in the group 1 Empire Rose.
Smith had thoughts of a Doncaster Mile start for Idle Flyer this campaign, but the focus has turned to the group 1 Queen Of The Turf (1600m) a week later on April 11 after a delayed return.
“She should have started a month before she did, but we had a bit of a setback with a temperature and then it just took a while to get her bloods right,” he said.
“It wasn’t ideal, but she’s back on track.
“We would have ended up in the Queen Of The Turf anyway, but we might have taken a different path there.
“And we were going to wait and see how she went the first couple of runs, then she could have ended up in the Doncaster. We couldn’t do that because of what happened, so we just said we’ll start again.
“She probably peaks up third up. Her fitness has come on nicely since the first-up run and she’s way better at 1500 than 1200, and she’ll be better again at a mile.”
Idle Flyer was a $3.30 favourite for the Emancipation after drawing gate five.
News this week that Autumn Glow would go to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, rather than the Doncaster or Queen Of The Turf, was a relief for Smith.
“At least we’ve got a chance now, if she was going there [Queen Of The Turf], you are running for second and third,” he said.
Smith also has long-shots on Saturday in group 2 company with Portland in the Neville Sellwood Stakes (2000m) and Eureka Rebel and Dezignation in the Tulloch Stakes (2000m) for three-year-old colts and geldings.
Portland was a listed winner and group 1 placegetter in France but has finished back in the field in two delayed Australian runs after shin soreness cut short his first preparation.
“He’s improving with each run,” Smith said. “I think 2000 is ideal, but we’ll just see how he goes third up. We are still working him out a bit.”
His Tulloch pair are on trial for an ATC Derby start.
Smith said Idle Flyer will be “flying the flag” for the stable in the autumn features, but he hoped to run Placid Pearl again soon after her third in the Epona Stakes.
“I think she will run a nice race over 2000, but she just needs a genuine gallop the whole way,” he said.
“She might have to go to the JRA Plate, but I’d like to take her to a mares race or a country cup even.”
He said Headwall, which missed a likely Everest start with injury last spring, will miss the autumn.
“He’s doing pace-work at the farm and he’s coming along good,” he said.
“I can’t wait to get him back. He’s been back in work about a month. He’ll have another month, then he’ll have a trial. He’ll possibly have one or two runs in Queensland then get ready for the spring.”
Promising sprinter Lyles is on the comeback from feet problems.
“He’ll trial soon,” he said.
“We’ll probably wait for the back-end of autumn and if he jumps out of the ground, he can always go to Queensland.”
