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By Ray Hickson

It’s important to trainer Scott Collings that his consistent mare Ticklebelly makes an impression on prospective Kosciuszko slot holders so he’s giving himself plenty of time to decide whether she kicks off at Warwick Farm on Wednesday or Randwick on Saturday.

The five-year-old, a winner of six from 17, is an acceptor for the TAB Handicap (1000m) at Warwick Farm and Collings can see pluses in running there but Saturday’s race is restricted to fillies and mares.

Ticklebelly is on the $51 line with TAB for the $2 million The Kosciuszko, run on TAB Everest Day. The 14 slot winners are drawn next Wednesday.

“The Saturday race doesn’t look any stronger so I’m thinking we may go that way, it’s 1100m and worth a lot more money,’’ Collings said.

“We want to make sure we get it right with her first-up because we would really like to get her into the Kosciuszko.

“I’m of the belief she should get in. I don’t want to be disrespectful to other horses but there were a lot of horses in it last year that weren’t as good as her.”

Ticklebelly runs fifth in the Country Championships Final

Early in her career it was thought Ticklebelly might be just a 1000m sprinter but she put that theory to bed last preparation when she won over 1200m in the Bega Sprint and over 1400m in the Southern Wild Card, which earned her a spot in the Country Championships Final.

She ran fifth behind Know Thyself after leading the $1 million race and was rested after finishing seventh to Compelling Truth in the Wagga Town Plate.

“She’d been up a long time and was still enjoying her racing so we thought we’d have one last throw at the stumps before she went to the paddock,’’ he said.

“You would think she never left the stable the way she came back. She had a nice coat on her and looked great in condition.

“She can run a strong 1400m but the 1200m of the Kosciuszko is her ideal distance.”

It was in Collings’ plan to give Ticklebelly an official trial leading into her first-up run but the race day trials on Goulburn Cup Day were called off.

He said she has had a jump out at home but the trial was more a PR exercise than anything else. If she is selected for The Kosciuszko then Collings has an option to run her again.

“That trial was more so she could have a bit of an outing and people could see her before she got to the races but her fitness is spot on,’’ he said.

“In about three weeks there’s another 78 over 1100m back in town.

“She’s the type of mare that five or six weeks between runs won’t faze her. If we didn’t want to we don’t have to go back to the races.”

All the fields, form and replays for Wednesday’s Warwick Farm meeting