Connections of new Stradbroke fav Black Piranha say they don't care if the Eagle Farm track is a bog on Saturday. Part-owner John Karakatsanis says: 'He handles wet tracks and this is his race. He goes into this race, the one we've set him for, with the strongest form lines. He has earned prizemoney at 30 of 34 starts, not many have done that...He is well weighted and barrier four is good, we didn't want barrier one...From four he'll get back but he won't be last...The horse is ready and if he i
Connections of new Stradbroke fav Black Piranha say they don't care if the Eagle Farm track is a bog on Saturday. Part-owner John Karakatsanis says: 'He handles wet tracks and this is his race. He goes into this race, the one we've set him for, with the strongest form lines. He has earned prizemoney at 30 of 34 starts, not many have done that...He is well weighted and barrier four is good, we didn't want barrier one...From four he'll get back but he won't be last...The horse is ready and if he is good enough he'll win.'
Melbourne trainer Tony Noonan says he's not concerned at all about Ortensia drawing wide in gate #16. He says: 'I wanted to draw outside 10...She'll be back and not cluttered up - there is a fair bit of pace drawn outside and I'd like to be just behind them.'
Mike Moroney is warming to the prospects of Mr Baritone, last year's winner, in the Stradbroke. He says the Stravinsky gelding is going as well, if not better, this time around and will relish the heavy conditions. Mr Baritone will carry the same weight as he did last year when scoring on a rain-affected track. He'll be ridden by Glen Boss, who won the race in 2003 aboard Private Steer. Following the draw Mr Baritone shortened with Sportingbet from $12.00 to $10.00.
Rain continued to fall in Brisbane on Thursday morning and shows no sign of letting up. The forecast is for a rainy day. It now seems odds-on that the Eagle Farm track will be very heavy on Saturday. Thursday's Kembla Grange meeting was abandoned due to the rain-sodden state of the track.