Her trainer has seen the promise on the training track but imported mare Now Or Later needs to start delivering on the racetrack in a spring campaign that begins at Caulfield on Saturday.
Now Or Later was a Group III winner and Group I-placed in Ireland last year and her work and trials on arrival at Robert Smerdon's Caulfield stable lived up to her overseas reputation but her races did not.
Smerdon sent Now Or Later to Adelaide for her Australian debut where she finished 15th in the Group I Robert Sangster Stakes before she ran a steady fourth at Flemington in May.
Smerdon spelled the daughter of Bushranger and he says the extra time in Australia could produce an improved performance in Saturday's Group III Ladbrokes Odds Boost Stakes.
"It's fair to say that she was really pleasing with her work and jumpouts but her raceday performance fell short of expectations," Smerdon said.
"She went for a break and there is a belief that there is an acclimatisation factor in these imported horses that is undeniable.
"Now she's had a break, albeit not a long break, she has had an opportunity to acclimatise and that might mean a whole new ball game."
While Now Or Later starts her spring preparation in a 1200m contest, Smerdon expects the five-year-old to improve sufficiently with more ground to earn a start in the Group I Myer Classic (1600m) in November.
"There is no doubting her ability," Smerdon said.
"If she gets any cut in the ground, that is just a bonus but 1200m first-up, I'm expecting a respectable run and then she stretches to 1400m and ideally, we're trying to get her to the Myer Classic."
Ryan Maloney will ride Now Or Later in the Ladbrokes Odds Boost Stakes and the mare will jump from barrier two.
Sportsbet has Now Or Later at $13 in a competitive market on the race in which the Robbie Laing-trained Missrock and the Sydney mare Ravi share top billing at $5.
