JENNY Graham said pre-race that she would have been happy with a middle of the pack result in the Country Championships final at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday.
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So when Magnalane finished seventh overall in a blanket finish the Port Macquarie trainer was still satisfied with how the four-year-old fared.
While disappointed not to finish in the top three, Graham put it down to a slow start although there were a number of positives.
"I was disappointed he missed the kick because I think he would have been in the finish there somewhere, but it's a bit unfortunate ... that's racing," she said.
"He ran the quickest 600 of that race (in the closing stages) so overall I was pretty happy; it was just unfortunate that he messed up the start and that put us on the back foot."
Graham admitted having no crowd attend the meeting due to COVID-19 regulations meant the atmosphere felt quite surreal.
"It took the excitement out of it for sure; we were directed to stay in our own area with our horses so the atmosphere wasn't there," she said.
Magnalane may run in the Tamworth Cup in just under a month although Graham admitted a meeting in Port Macquarie in three weeks was also a chance.
"We are looking at the Tamworth Cup in three weeks time ... so I have got that in the back of my mind," she said.
"But there is a race here in three weeks so there are a couple there at the moment."
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