Anticipating Sydney’s customary moist autumn climate, trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr based in Victoria have decided to head north with two of their charges, eyeing rain-influenced surfaces for the carnival.
On Saturday at Rosehill Gardens, Globe and La Fracas will start their autumn assignments, the former in the Ajax Stakes (1500m) and the latter in the Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m).
For Globe, it’s his initial run back after being pulled from the Cox Plate due to veterinary recommendation, coming off a win in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m), with Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr confirming the horse has taken well to their Sydney quarters after arriving several weeks prior.
“We’ve planned Sydney to take advantage of soft tracks. I know he won a Group One last time on good ground, but we feel he is an excellent wet tracker,” Kent Jnr said.
“He’s going super. His trials have been excellent. Outside gate, he’s only got one style and that’s to flow along out in front. There does look to be a bit of pressure inside him from Sandpaper and Willaidow, but he gave Tom Berry a great feel last week in the trial.
“If the track firms up, his chances decrease, and if it stays in that soft range then his chances are better.”
Kent Jnr described the soft tissue swelling responsible for Globe’s Cox Plate scratch as relatively insignificant, merely “required no intervention, just a spell and rest”.
With entries in the Doncaster Mile (1600m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), Globe’s carnival schedule is tentative, yet Kent Jnr expects positive results.
La Fracas seeks to uphold his flawless first-up form in the Maurice McCarten Stakes, albeit the 1100m proving a touch brief for the speedster’s optimal distance.
In case of no success Saturday, Kent Jnr recommends watching for wet conditions.
“Mick (Price), in his time, thinks he’s one of the best wet trackers he has ever seen,” he said.
“His goal in life is to be up, fit, healthy and fresh when the rain arrives.
“We wouldn’t dismiss the idea of running him in a big sprint up there if the rain really teemed down.”
Craig Williams will steer La Fracas as Tom Berry rides Globe. For the Ajax Stakes, punters should visit betting sites to compare racing betting markets.