Trainer Trevor Rogers is not overly concerned about his handy galloper Roulette King being an emergency for a race at Flemington.
Roulette King is first emergency for the Listed Paris Lane Stakes (1400m) on Saturday, but the weather forecast is in his favour.
At acceptance time on Wednesday the Flemington track was rated a Good 3, but 10 to 25mm of rain is forecast for Flemington on Thursday, 9-30mm on Friday and 3-15mm on Saturday.
“I’m tipping the way the weather is going to be in the next couple of days, there will be a good chance of him getting into the race,” Rogers said.
Roulette King has won four of his five starts and the recently turned four-year-old is being aimed towards the $10 million Group 1 Golden Eagle (1500m) at Randwick on October 31.
Rogers resisted the temptation of entering Roulette King for the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate, reasoning the gelding can head to those races as a seasoned five-year-old next year.
Saturday’s outing will be Roulette King’s first since winning the Alister Clark Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield in March.
And with the Golden Eagle this campaign’s aim, Rogers did not want to have Roulette King up and going too early.
“He is a horse that is a mile (1600m), mile-and-a-quarter (2000m) type of horse, so I didn’t want him to be racing too early and have him looking for 1800 (metres) or 2000 when I’m trying to win over 1500 metres,” Rogers said.
“That’s why he’s racing Saturday over the 1400 (metres) and I want to see him at that trip.
“He has won twice at the trip before, but it was down in the grades, and this time he’s first-up against better quality horses.
“I want to see if he’s got a good enough turn of foot to warrant going to the Golden Eagle or whether I just think about pressing him up in ground.
“I didn’t bother with the Cox Plate or Caulfield Cup this year as I don’t think he’s seasoned enough, but they could be races for him next year if he keeps going the way he’s going.
“I thought 1500 metres, against his own age, for very good money, it was worth a shot, and after Saturday, if he shows enough ping, I’ve got four weeks to freshen him up again, for the Golden Eagle.
“Plus, he’s only four once.”
Roulette King has had four trials ahead of his return and Rogers took a leaf out of the book of his old ‘boss’ John Size, in taking the gelding to Pakenham for a jump-out.
Rogers said Size always said travelling a horse ‘makes them grow another leg’.
“He had eight weeks in the paddock after the Alister Clark, and it took a while to get him fit enough for Saturday and he’s still not wound up yet,” Rogers said.
“That’s why I want to take him to the races, to have a look at him, and see if I’ll have him ready in a month’s time.
“He’s such a laid-back horse. He doesn’t switch on in his trials and in his last one, he just bowled around, but Motty said if he pulled him out and gave him one around the bum, he would have won it, but we’re not about that (winning trials).”
Rogers said Jamie Mott had worked hard to get down to 54kg to ride Roulette King on Saturday and has a confirmed booking on the gelding in the Golden Eagle. Consider the latest racing odds at online bookmakers.