Cannyescent Puts Golden Rose Berth On Line

There's a million reasons for Cannyescent to run well at Randwick on Saturday.

Rated the unlucky runner in the Up And Coming Stakes, Cannyescent needs to win the Ming Dynasty Quality to sneak into the field for the $1 million Golden Rose.

Cannyescent was held up until Up And Coming was almost over in finishing fifth to Shards, confirming he is a horse on the rise for trainer Gabrielle Englebrecht.

And Englebrecht says plans to put Cannyescent away until the autumn season might have to be shelved should he win the Ming Dynasty.

"We're taking it one race at a time. If he wins, we'd have to sit down with the owner and Kathy (O'Hara), our jockey, and consider the option of going to the Golden Rose," she said.

"He's a young horse, we won't run him in anything unless he's going to be competitive.

"I think he's got a really good chance."

Cannyescent's debut win at Goulburn last month came on soft track and Englebrecht is one trainer who wasn't upset when Randwick was downgraded because of rain on Friday.

"He loves the wet, so we're pretty happy to see the rain," she said.

"But looking at the form guide, there's a case to be made that most horses there love the heavy track too."

Also at stake for connections is a possible sale to Asia with owner Kevin Pitstock fielding lucrative offers.

But Englebrecht said Pitstock was yet to receive an offer commensurate with Cannyescent's racing potential.

"It's a balance, the offer has to be significant enough, (because) there's still so much improvement in the horse, so much potential," she said.