MATCHA LATTE’S “RACEDAY EXPERIENCE” A WORTHWHILE EXERCISE

NACIM Dilmi says Provincial-Midway Championships Final favorite Matcha Latte is ready to go following a “raceday experience” at Wyong on yesterday.

The Wyong trainer took advantage of his home race club’s offer to gallop the gelding between races ahead of his attempt at history at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Matcha Latte took last year’s $1m Final (1400m) for fellow Wyong trainer Sara Ryan when she was Domeland’s head trainer, and no horse has won the annual feature twice since the race’s inception in 2015.

“Matcha Latte was feeling too fresh, and I wanted him to have another raceday experience,” Dilmi said today.

“His regular jockey Ash Morgan (who won last year’s PMC Final on the gelding) stopped at Wyong on his way to Randwick to ride in the Australian Derby, and galloped him between the first and second race.

“I put blinkers on him, and felt the whole exercise was preferable to giving him a standard piece of work.

“We put the GPS tracker on Matcha Latte, and he is in great order.

“One final gallop on Tuesday morning will have him spot on for Saturday’s Final.”

Matcha Latte has raced three times this preparation, and sealed his history-making bid by easily winning a Hawkesbury Qualifer (1400m) on March 7.

Dilmi, who succeeded Ryan in charge of Domeland training operations at the beginning of the season, purposely has not started him again prior to the Final.

He trialled Matcha Latte over 1000m at Newcastle’s inside Beaumont track on March 24, and is relishing the opportunity to not only create history with the gelding, but also claim a $1m feature in his maiden season of training.

Matcha Latte is currently heading Provincial-Midway Final betting at $3, and in a most unusual situation, has last year’s runner-up Lord Of Biscay behind him as $6 second favorite, along with Hawkesbury trainer Jason Attard’s mare Ouo Oui Oui.

Matcha Latte (Morgan) defeated Lord Of Biscay (James McDonald) by a narrow margin 12 months ago, and here they are both lining up again – and with the same jockeys.

The final field of 15 is now decided, and the barrier draw will take place on Wednesday morning.

. The latest TAB.com.au market on the PMC Final is:

$3 Matcha Latte

$6 Lord Of Biscay, Oui Oui Oui

$8 Buffalo

$11 Octa De Lago

$13 Il Passero

$15 Oakfield Jupiter

$26 Flying Embers, Imposant, Midnight Opal, Miss Spacegirl

$34 Harry’s Bar, Miss Busslinger

$51 Mogul Monarch, Oakfield Saturn

STORY JOHN CURTIS, APRIL 5, 2026 - PICS BRADLEY PHOTOS