In the decade he spent honing his craft under the master Bart Cummings, emerging Brisbane trainer John Fleming acquired a wealth of invaluable knowledge.With gallopers like Saintly, Catalan Opening, Wonderful World and Dane Ripper coming and going, the younger brother of Cummings' long-term foreman Reg Fleming always had a Group One runner to look forward to.But Fleming never lost sight of reality and at Eagle Farm on Wednesday the 36-year-old will put into play the two most valuable skills he l
In the decade he spent honing his craft under the master Bart Cummings, emerging Brisbane trainer John Fleming acquired a wealth of invaluable knowledge.
With gallopers like Saintly, Catalan Opening, Wonderful World and Dane Ripper coming and going, the younger brother of Cummings' long-term foreman Reg Fleming always had a Group One runner to look forward to.
But Fleming never lost sight of reality and at Eagle Farm on Wednesday the 36-year-old will put into play the two most valuable skills he learned from Cummings - patience and commonsense.
Fleming has booked Michael Cahill to ride Scherzinger in the Mimiki Foundation Maiden Plate (1000m) and the composure he has shown with the lightly-raced mare is reminiscent of his mentor.
"Bart always taught me how important patience and commonsense were," Fleming said.
"They're the two cheapest things available to a horse trainer but knowing how to put them into practice is the hard part."
Fleming returned to Brisbane in 2008 to take out a trainer's licence following his stint in Melbourne with Cummings and not long after he shelled out $55,500 for Scherzinger at the 2009 Gold Coast Magic Millions sale.
Scherzinger is by Tale Of The Cat and her dam Lady Danzero is a half-sister to multiple Perth stakeswinner Zoometric and Fleming is adamant his patience will reap rewards.
"I knew there would be good residual value for her if I could win a few city races with her and I'm sure she'll repay us," Fleming said.
"She's one of those horses that there's always something wrong with her but in my experience that normally happens to the good ones.
"She was never going to be a two-year-old but she's way above average and probably should have won her first start at Ipswich."
Scherzinger finished second at her only career start in February but a lingering foot abscess he discovered after that run forced Fleming to spell her.
"Then she came back and won a trial at Doomben but she wasn't going as well as I knew she could so I tipped her out again," he said.
"Apart from being held up by the wet tracks she has had a faultless preparation this time and I'm confident she will race really well first-up.
"If she can't win tomorrow, the Magic Millions Maiden in January is a definite option for her."