Robbie Griffiths is hoping the dry weather holds as his galloper Verdad prepares for a return to racing in Saturday’s The David Bourke (1620m) at Flemington.
After being withdrawn from two recent starts due to unsuitable wet tracks, Verdad looks set to finally get his preferred surface, with the Flemington course rated a Good 4 on Friday and no significant rain forecast ahead of race day.
The four-year-old was scratched from Flemington on May 17 and again a week later at Sandown, with both tracks affected by rain. He last raced on May 31 at Caulfield, where he ran third behind Jimmy The Bear despite missing the start and settling well back.
“He was good at Caulfield. He missed the start, I don’t know why, and it changed the game plan for us,” Griffiths said.
“We wanted to be one-one, and he ended up out the back and that is not his style, so he did a good job to run third and he would have got benefit from that as he hadn’t had a run for a while.”
Griffiths believes the gelding is well set up for Saturday’s race after a freshen-up and soft jump-out on Monday.
“This time he’s three weeks between runs which is good for him after a soft jump-out on Monday, and he’s back to Flemington, where he won and you would think he would be a chance, but the weather is the key,” he said.
“Rain is forecast to stay away and hopefully it will remain in the good range.”
While confident in Verdad’s condition, Griffiths is realistic about how winter conditions can quickly impact Victorian tracks.
“He’s been in work a while, but when you see him in the yard, he’s in great condition, as though he is in summer,” Griffiths said.
“We’ve probably been a little bit fortunate in Melbourne with the weather conditions, for his chances, but if the rains do come, this could be his last run for a while.
“But whilst he’s going well, and the tracks are around the (slow) five range, he might be lucky to go through to the final, but we’ll just see.
“I think he’s enjoying being in work rather than standing around in a cold paddock.”
Should all go well, a run in the VRC-CRV Winter Championship Series Final (1600m) at Flemington on July 5 is on the cards. However, Griffiths is also contemplating a spring campaign depending on how the weather and his form line up.
“He’s got the opportunity at the moment to run between benchmark 100’s, open handicaps, a Listed Country Cup, like the Seymour and Sale Cups, and then he could have a crack at a couple of races over the spring,” Griffiths said.
“It all depends on what happens in his next run or two as to where his rating gets to leading into the spring, but he’s got the versatility there to have a look at few options.”
“He could be an ideal horse going to the Crystal Mile at The Valley into the Cranbourne Cup, but all that would be dependent on his form at the time, and the weather.”
