Trainer Mitchell Freedman is eager to see stable star Attrition make his spring return in the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday, confident the entire has never been in better condition. While acknowledging that 1400 metres is at the shorter end of Attrition’s preferred range, Freedman believes the six-year-old is primed to run a strong race fresh.
“I’m really happy with him,” Freedman said. “He had a good spell leading into this preparation which he hadn’t had in a while. He looks super in his condition, his work has been really good. The 1400 is probably right at the bottom end of his liking, but I’ve never had him looking this good going into a first-up run. He prefers it dry, but a little bit of cut out of the ground is not going to hurt him at all, and I expect him to run well.”
Attrition’s only first-up win came in a Geelong maiden at the start of his second preparation. Last year, he resumed in Adelaide, finishing runner-up in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) at Morphettville Parks. In the spring of 2023, he contested the P B Lawrence Stakes and finished fifth to Mr Brightside before placing second in the Feehan Stakes at Moonee Valley and later claiming his maiden Group 1 victory in the Toorak Handicap.
Last spring, Freedman took Attrition to Sydney where he captured the Group 2 Hill Stakes (1900m) at Rosehill before an unlucky fourth in the Five Diamonds (1800m). That success has Freedman eyeing another shot at the $2 million Hill Stakes in October.
“We’re planning on travelling him back up to Sydney for the Hill Stakes,” Freedman said. “He was very good in that last year and then he was unlucky in the Five Diamonds. He races well that way of going and he seems to handle the travel no worries. Then we may aim to dream a little higher later in the spring if he’s going well enough.”
Beau Mertens, who partnered Attrition in both his Toorak Handicap and Hill Stakes triumphs, will again take the reins on Saturday.
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