Sweet Feet has big shoes to fill: Grills

Tuesday 17 June 2014, 2:23pm

Sue Grills will be out to usher in a new era of city-winning horses when Sweet Feet makes his Sydney debut at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.

Grills is still feeling the loss of Border Rebel and Ollie Vollie, top-class sprinters who banked almost $1.3 million in stakes between them until their respective retirements during the past 12 months.

And the successful Tamworth trainer admits they will be a hard - if not impossible - act to follow.

"I've lost my two big guns," Grills said as she prepared Sweet Feet to run in the TAB Quaddie Handicap (1600m).

Border Rebel won 13 races and competed at Group One level while Ollie Vollie posted 19 victories across nine seasons of racing.

As a rising 12-year-old, Ollie Vollie won the Gold Coast Stakes in March but sprained a suspensory ligament not long afterwards.

"He must have put his foot in a hole or something so I just retired him," Grills said.

"He was a marvellous horse old Ollie ... no one will ever know how good he was.

"And you will never replace either of them, he or Border Rebel."

Sweet Feet has a long way to go before he can match the racing records of his ex-stablemates but the three-year-old is earning his keep with wins at Port Macquarie, Moree and Grafton.

He drops to 54kg after carrying 59kg to win at Grafton on June 3 and Grills is keen to test the gelding's stamina over 1600m before the Grafton Guineas during next month's Cup carnival.

"He'll go to the Grafton Guineas whatever he does tomorrow and it seems to be a nice mile race in between for him," Grills said.

Sweet Feet is expected to be one of the favourites in a race where provincial and country form will be a genuine guide because it is restricted to horses who haven't won at metropolitan level.

But he will encounter strong opposition from last-start Kembla Grange winners Stroke Of Eight and Anantha.

Stroke Of Eight left Anantha four lengths in his wake in a 1500-metre win on May 29 before the latter broke maiden ranks with a nine-length victory nine days later.

– AAP

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