Trainer Matthew Smith is full of confidence heading into Saturday’s The Quokka (1200m), with talented sprinter Headwall shaping as a major contender for the $5 million slot race at Ascot.
Following strong Group 1 placings in both the Newmarket Handicap and TJ Smith Stakes this campaign, Smith believes Headwall is peaking at the right time.
“He had a bit of a breeze up this morning on the grass and looked great,” Smith told TABradio. “His condition’s good. He hasn’t lost any weight, which is important. He just seemed nice and bright. He was sharp and he was looking to do something, so that’s always good too.”
“He looks as good as he did in Sydney. I’m really happy.”
Headwall will jump from barrier eight in a field of 13, making his debut at Ascot and only his second time racing in an anti-clockwise direction. He previously handled the challenge when finishing strongly for fourth in the Oakleigh Plate (1100m).
“I had a good look at the track this morning. It’s got a good camber on it around the turn, which does help those horses back in the field. It’s not a particularly long straight, but he does have a good turn of foot,” Smith said.
His effort in the TJ Smith Stakes, where he was beaten just 1.3 lengths by Overpass, has given Smith confidence that Headwall can match it with the best.
“It was a really good TJ this year. I don’t know, it was eight or nine Group One winners in there. I was surprised to see him on the bit at the 200 (metres). I thought that was unusual in a TJ to be still travelling,” he said.
“He was a very hard horse to get to settle, and that’s why we took so long to get him to 12 (hundred metres). We did try him in Queensland over 12, but he didn’t relax and he didn’t run it out, so we went back to 1,000 with him.”
“If he can reproduce his TJ run, he’s going to be fighting the finish. Now, he’s still got to travel here and he’s still got to do it, but we’re not seeing any signs that he won’t.”
From barrier eight, Smith hopes that Zac Lloyd can position Headwall midfield and avoid conceding too much ground to the likes of Overpass.
“Takes some thinking out of it, you can land there, that’d be good instead of being too wide,” he added.
Overpass, undefeated in the past two runnings of The Quokka, has drawn barrier 10 and remains the $2.40 favourite. Headwall is on the second line of betting at $6.00, with Western Empire ($8.00) drawing barrier six and Front Page ($8.50) coming from gate 11.