Improving stayer Rubiquin faces his toughest test to date when he runs in the $100,000 Comic Court Handicap (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday.The Rubiton five-year-old, prepared at Seymour by Geoff McDonald, has won three of his last six starts and is chasing a winning hat-trick following wins in a Class 2 Handicap (2000m) on his home track and in a restricted 2500m race at Moonee Valley on December 5.Six starts ago the gelding broke through to win a Gunbower Maiden (1800m) at his 11th start."He
Improving stayer Rubiquin faces his toughest test to date when he runs in the $100,000 Comic Court Handicap (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday.
The Rubiton five-year-old, prepared at Seymour by Geoff McDonald, has won three of his last six starts and is chasing a winning hat-trick following wins in a Class 2 Handicap (2000m) on his home track and in a restricted 2500m race at Moonee Valley on December 5.
Six starts ago the gelding broke through to win a Gunbower Maiden (1800m) at his 11th start.
"He has to take a big step on Saturday, but he's a horse of potential and we've sorted out most of his problems and he was bucking his brand off out here this morning," McDonald said.
"He likes to bowl along in front or just off the leaders and he can pretty well run at that pace all day.
"If he runs well on Saturday, which we're reasonably confident about, he'll go on to the Bagot then he'll have a good break and see how he comes out of it after that."
McDonald, 51, moved to Victoria from the Gold Coast over two years ago, bringing his 2005 Queensland Cup winner Double Portion with him.
Double Portion won a race at Kilmore and ran fourth to Gallic in the 2006 Bendigo Cup (2400m) before McDonald sold him.
He purchased Rubiquin privately for around $3,000 after someone else had two weeks earlier bought the horse at an Inglis dispersal sale at Oaklands Junction.
At that stage he had raced five times for another stable with his best result being a third over 1600m in a Moe Maiden at his race debut.
"He was pretty timid and frightened of people when we got him and he bucked a bit so we had a lot of problems to sort out with him even before I got on his back," McDonald said.
"He bucked me off the first time I got on him but we thought he was worth persevering with because he was a lovely type."
Rubiquin is out of the Archway mare Makita Rose who was unplaced in all seven starts, while his granddam, the unraced She's A Bounty, is a sister to five-time Group One winner Bounty Hawk.
Aaron Spiteri, who has linked with Rubiquin at his past two starts, retains the ride on Saturday.
"We were having problems getting him ridden right, but Aaron has done the job well," McDonald said.