Trainer Dan Morton has his stable’s top performers prepared for the initial day of The Pinnacles at Ascot in Perth, as Western Australia’s premier racing season commences.
The series includes four Group 1 races with a total prize pool of $1.5 million spread across five race days. Morton is targeting the lucrative prize money with his horse, who is the $2.60 favourite in the $500,000 Listed Placid Ark Stakes (1200m) scheduled for Saturday.
Afireofgidgeecoals, a name derived from the burning of the Australian gidgee tree and a Slim Dusty song, is coming into the event after a close second in the Placid Ark Prelude (1100m) on October 31. This followed a second-place finish first-up in the Listed Max Simmonds Stakes (1000m) just 21 days prior.
“I had to go three weeks at some point and I didn’t want to do it leading into this being his grand final,” Morton stated regarding the three-year-old colt.
“So I wanted to get that out of the way early. He is in peak fitness for it and I am looking forward to the race.
“He’s a young colt and he was starting to get a bit above himself at the end of that last week of the three.
“So I’m happier with the space leading into this from his last start.”
The colt, sired by the popular stallion Too Darn Hot, will benefit from two gear adjustments this week, a strategy that has proven effective in his training.
“He has been tracking along really well,” Morton commented.
“I’ve put the blinkers on and the Norton bit. It’s a bit unconventional but it is just to let him know that he’s got to come back to us.
“I have persevered with that gear since last start, and he’s taken to it well.”
With Lucy Fiore booked to ride, Morton anticipates Afireofgidgeecoals will settle in the midfield with cover. He is also open to considering the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes if the colt performs admirably in this race.
Afireofgidgeecoals is currently rated an $11 chance for the 1200-metre feature on November 28.
“We are going into the carnival with plenty of ammo,” Morton confirmed.
Check out the latest racing odds and betting markets for the Placid Ark Stakes at racing odds.
