Former Singapore trainer Tim Fitzsimmons is eyeing his first metropolitan victory in Australia with Golden Monkey, who is set to compete in the MRC Chairman’s Club Handicap (1440m) at Caulfield this Saturday.
Since relocating to Bendigo and launching his Australian training operation in February, Fitzsimmons has saddled 42 runners, achieving nine wins and a commendable 21% strike rate, with over half of his starters finishing in the placings.
“It’s been a good start with what we’ve got,” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s been mainly the Singapore horses that have been running, but it’s going good.”
Golden Monkey has yet to make an impact in his two Australian starts, finishing eighth in both the Country Discovery (1000m) at Echuca and the Golden Topaz (1200m) at Swan Hill.
“I do think it was a strange track that day, but I was disappointed in the way he didn’t let down,” Fitzsimmons said. “He has trialled well since and I’ve put the blinkers back on him which he had in all his early wins over there (Singapore) just to stimulate him a little bit.”
“Maybe he’s been going through the motions a little bit. I’m happy with him, I was happy with his trial, but I’d really like to see him hit the line strongly on Saturday, otherwise we might have to think about giving him a little break and a freshen up.”
Fitzsimmons is hopeful that the recent rainfall in Victoria, particularly at Caulfield, will provide the soft track conditions that Golden Monkey prefers. However, he is wary of the competition, notably the presence of Lim’s Saltoro, a familiar rival from their racing days in Singapore.
“I didn’t want to run against it as we were always running against it in Singapore, but now we have Saltoro,” Fitzsimmons said. “It is what it is, but these are the races these horses have to run in.”
“The 1400 metres is probably his trip, so what we want to see him finishing off his race strongly and if he can win, no-one would be happier. Hopefully there’s plenty of speed on and he’s flashing home late.”
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