Trainer Gavin Bedggood, who has a history of training successful former Irish horses, is optimistic that a firmer track at Caulfield Heath will prove beneficial for his latest acquisition.
Earlswood and Kingswood, both having started their careers in Ireland, have previously won races for Bedggood. Currawood is the latest import from Ireland to join his stable.
All three horses are under the same ownership, Glyn and Jane Davies, and each commenced their racing careers in Ireland before making their way to Australia.
Earlswood began his Australian career with Maddie Raymond at Warrnambool and won his first start in the Group 3 Carlyon Cup at Caulfield.
After experiencing a loss of form, Earlswood was moved to Bedggood’s stable and secured victory in the Gold Nugget at Ballarat, around the same time Kingswood joined the Cranbourne trainer.
Bedggood guided Kingswood from a benchmark 78 win at Sandown to claim the Coongy Stakes at Caulfield and, more recently, achieved Group 1 success in New Zealand.
Currawood is among the nominations for the benchmark 84 handicap over 1500 metres at Caulfield Heath this Saturday, marking the gelding’s second Australian start.
In his debut run in Australia, Currawood encountered track conditions that were too wet when finishing towards the rear over 1400 metres at Sandown on July 15.
Bedggood anticipates improvement on Saturday, with favourable weather conditions expected later in the week.
“He’s a chance to get good ground, and he can definitely turn that performance around,” Bedggood stated.
“He came to Australia with solid form. He’d had eight starts for two wins and six placings, mostly in Stakes races over in Ireland, so he’s running in his right sort of race.”
“He’s in the same ownership as those other horses, but I don’t know if he’s as good as them, but he’s come out here in similar form.”
“He probably doesn’t want rock hard ground, probably similar to what they were, but some give the ground.”
“I would think he’s going to get a perfect surface to bounce back on Saturday.”
While the step up in distance is modest, Bedggood believes it will suit Currawood. At present, considering the gelding’s rating, the trainer is not planning to target overly ambitious races.
“I just want to try and run him through his grades and get him to win a race before we sort of get too aggressive in our placement with him,” Bedggood explained.
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