Man Crush kicks off his winter campaign this Saturday, and trainer Luke Fernie is anticipating a strong showing in the Listed Bolton Sprint (1200m) at Bunbury.
The five-year-old gelding started the year in style by capturing the Listed Miss Andretti Stakes (1100m) at Ascot, beginning what turned into a consistent campaign.
He followed up with runner-up finishes in the Scenic Blast Stakes (1200m) and the Pinjarra Classic (1300m), narrowly missing out on victories in both contests.
His last appearance came in the Bunbury Stakes (1400m) in March. This weekend, he returns to the same venue aiming to go one better than his second-place finish behind Boots Like Bruce in last year’s Bolton Sprint.
Man Crush had a quiet trial at Belmont last week, finishing fourth behind stablemate Otheronesone in a 1000m heat, with jockey Chris Parnham taking care not to push him hard.
Fernie is optimistic that the addition of blinkers will spark a sharp return to form for the seven-time winner.
“He’ll improve with a set of shades on as well,” Fernie told Racing WA. “I’d imagine he will sharpen up a hell of a lot with them on. He just cruised through that trial the other day and was looked after. He had a little bit of a blow but should be good to go.”
While Man Crush resumes with over $900,000 in earnings, stablemate Wild Belle has run her last race and will now head to the breeding barn. The Pride Of Dubai mare won five races from 14 starts, with her career highlights being victories in the Listed Miss Andretti Stakes (1200m) and the Rock Magic Stakes (1000m).
Fernie confirmed the decision to retire Wild Belle following her 10th-place finish behind Repossession in the recent Beaufine Stakes at Belmont.
“She’s had enough of racing,” Fernie said. “She will be retired now as a broodmare and will be a beautiful mum. She’s happy and healthy and after that last run, I was looking for every excuse to pinpoint to something. She’s going to the paddock a happy horse and for the journey she has taken us on, that’s all you can ask.”
In other stable news, Fernie remains cautious with Slip The Jab, who was scratched from a 1000m race at Bunbury last week won by unbeaten Twisted Steel. The promising type has impressed in trials but failed to fire on debut at Ascot in February due to shin soreness.
“He is a pretty good horse,” Fernie said. “There’s a race this week, but that will be determined if he is to go there, pending on track conditions. I feel he’s a really nice horse and I don’t need to put him in an uncomfortable position to get him back to the races. He didn’t have everything go right at his first prep, so I don’t want to send him there for a second time and something go wrong again with him.”
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