Trainer Gavin Bedggood is contemplating a couple of race options for Just Folk at Caulfield as the horse is being prepared for an early spring goal.
Just Folk is among the entries for the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m), which will be contested at weight-for-age this Saturday. He is also nominated for a benchmark 100 handicap (1600m), where he has been allocated 62kg.
These races are seen as potential lead-ups to a likely start in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield on August 29. This event marks the official opening of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.
The weather forecast for Saturday appears to be favourable for Just Folk, a galloper who thrives on wet tracks. When nominations closed on Monday, the track was rated a Heavy 9.
Of Just Folk’s ten career wins from 53 starts, five have been recorded on soft surfaces. He also has an additional nine placings from 21 attempts, with three of his wins coming on heavy ground and three top-three finishes from nine starts.
“The forecast looks promising for him to get his preferred ground,” Bedggood said.
“He ran super in the Winter Championship, and he went up and ran second in Sydney, in a Stakes race.”
“We just got beaten fair and square by a better horse on the day.”
Just Folk finished third in the Winter Championship Final (1600m) at Flemington on July 4, and subsequently ran second in the Winter Challenge (1500m) on July 18.
With Just Folk recently turning ten, Bedggood expressed his liking for the idea of competing for $200,000 in prize money in the Heatherlie Stakes, as Just Folk would likely possess a fitness edge over his rivals.
“I remember Dean Lester telling me, eight or nine years ago that the Heatherlie is a race that’s always won by the horse that’s come through winter, fit, and puts itself up on speed,” Bedggood stated.
“I would think that that’s his sort of race to be winning.It’s the Caulfield Cup kick-off for a lot of horses, and hopefully, he can be Johnny on the spot.”
“Looking at the forecast on Saturday, there’s a chance it will be wet and the way Caulfield has been racing as well, it might suit him too.”
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