The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable has opted to send former European import See That Storm back to the trials following a dismal performance on his Australian debut.
See That Storm finished last in his initial Australian run at Caulfield on May 30, trailing home more than 10 lengths behind the victorious Jimmy The Bear.
Kent Jnr provided insight into the gelding’s pre-race state, noting he had expended too much energy before reaching the track.
“He’s a nice horse but he had a bad experience at his first Australian start,” Kent Jnr said.
“He got very hot in the mounting yard, he wasted a lot of energy behind the gates.
“The instructions were to come back from an outside gate and hit the line, where was he, outside the lead, pulling, going head-and-head with El Rocko on a day where every winner, bar two, was widest in the straight.
“We were in the worst ground in the middle of the track, doing way too much work at a mile off a 10-month layoff.
“It was a disaster.”
The Price and Kent Jnr team has The David Bourke (1600m) at Flemington this Saturday pencilled in for See That Storm’s next outing.
As part of the gelding’s preparation for his second Australian start, See That Storm took part in a trial at Caulfield Heath on Thursday, finishing second last over 1050m.
However, Kent Jnr stated that the experience of transporting See That Storm away from Cranbourne would benefit the gelding in the long term.
“We wanted to take him back to Caulfield to give him a nice experience,” Kent Jnr said.
“We got him in the mounting yard early and he didn’t turn a hair, plus he was good behind the gates.
“He shanghaied out of the gates again, but we wanted to bring him back over the 1000 (metres), let the speed go and teach him something and I thought he found the line well.
“He’ll go to a mile at Flemington on Saturday and if the ground is not too bad, I would expect an improved showing and then we’re on our way to 2000 metres.
“He’s a nice horse, but last time was just a complete forgive.”
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