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By Ray Hickson

Trainer Lou Mary has a reliable measuring stick for promising filly Off The Scale as he hopes to cap a breakthrough campaign for her in Saturday’s TAB Highway (1800m) at Randwick.

That benchmark is stablemate Pensativa who beat many of Off The Scale’s rivals in the 1600m Highway two weeks ago.

Mary said Off The Scale, coming off successive wins at Port Macquarie and Scone, is a horse he feels will develop further next season and he showed his hand as far as his estimation of her promise in the three-year-old’s spring when she tackled a Group 3 race at her fourth start.

“I think she’s got a bit more class than Pensativa but I still think she’s six months away,’’ Mary said.

“She’s a nice progressive filly, she took a long time to mature and I believe she’ll be a better horse as a four-year-old.

“I thought a lot of her early on as a two-year-old but she wasn’t taking to the work too well. I was probably doing a bit too much with her that preparation.

Off The Scale wins at Scone on July 11

“She’s found a nice race there to finish her campaign. She’s BOBS eligible and it’s the time of the year you just want to pinch one more.”

Off The Scale has put four lengths and three lengths on her rivals in her past two wins and Mary said it’s been something of a revelation as he had doubts about her over further than 1600m.

“On her breeding nothing was going past the mile but I was getting the feeling she could probably go a mile and a half later on,’’ he said.

“I was a little reluctant to step up in distance but at 1800m at Port Macquarie she got into a rhythm and was really able to get through her gears.

“Finding this Highway over 1800m, which I think there’s only a couple of a year, the timing is perfect.”

Mary said what he has learned about Off The Scale in this preparation is that she reacts well to being ridden handy in her races so expects she’ll roll forward with Rory Hutchings retaining the ride from her past start win.

He has plenty of respect for her rivals which include In Summer and Premise, who were favoured in stablemate Pensativa’s Highway win, stepping out to the 1800m.

“She’s going to meet a decent field so she will have to show up and be on her A-game I think,’’ he said.

“She used to flop out of the barriers but she’s jumping better now. I think she is better when she’s ridden forward, I wouldn’t say leading but behind the leaders.

“She’s a big filly and has a big stride so she just needs a bit of room.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Randwick meeting