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By Ray Hickson

It’s often a cause for concern when a horse’s number of starts reaches double figures and they haven’t registered a win but in the case of Grand Palazzo, co-trainer Luke Price is confident her time is near.

The mare will be having start 12 in the Luke Marlow Plate (1200m) at Kembla Grange on Thursday.

“You start to get worried. You wonder if the day is every going to come,’’ Price said.

“Usually most horses have their day so hopefully it’s Thursday on her home track.

“She gets her chance, she should have won a race by now. She can be highly strung but I think we have found a good race for her on her home track.”

Grand Palazzo, $3.80 with TAB on Wednesday, has recorded three second placings in her 11 starts to date and the latest of those was second-up at Moruya on October 1, where she was well supported to start favourite.

As it turned out she left her run a bit late and was beaten a length and a half by Scalded.

Grand Palazzo runs second at Moruya on October 1

“She’s flying, absolutely going better now than she was at Moruya,’’ he said.

“(Jockey) Matty Cahill rang me up and apologized on the way home from Moruya, said he probably got it wrong on the corner over-exaggerating getting out too wide.”

Stablemate Alqaab is a poster boy for patience having recorded his second career win at start 29 at the same Moruya meeting and he’s aiming for back-to-back wins in the Mitch Manners Handicap (1400m).

Price says he’s calls the gelding ‘honest Al’ because he’s never too far away and he’s optimistic about his chances on a wet track.

“He struggles to win but he got his head in front of the camera the other day,’’ he said.

“You look at some of the horses that beat him and the way they go on with it. The harder grade isn’t going to matter, he’s still going to run an honest race.

“He continues to train on and he will love a soft track. He’s drawn to get a soft run, it’s an interesting race because if you take two or three out it lacks a bit of class.”

Meanwhile, Price said Count De Rupee is full steam ahead into the $7.5m Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill on October 30 following his placing in the Silver Eagle last weekend.

All the fields, form and replays for Thursday's Kembla Grange Farm