Trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr from Victoria are utilising Sydney’s often sodden autumn weather by dispatching two team members northward for potential sloppy tracks in the carnival.
Globe and La Fracas open their campaigns at Rosehill Gardens Saturday, Globe tackling the Ajax Stakes (1500m) and La Fracas the Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m).
Globe resumes post his veterinary withdrawal from the Cox Plate, fresh from victory in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m), and according to Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr, he has settled comfortably into their Sydney base after a few weeks there.
“We’ve planned Sydney to take advantage of soft tracks. I know he won a Group One last time on good ground, but we feel he is an excellent wet tracker,” Kent Jnr said.
“He’s going super. His trials have been excellent. Outside gate, he’s only got one style and that’s to flow along out in front. There does look to be a bit of pressure inside him from Sandpaper and Willaidow, but he gave Tom Berry a great feel last week in the trial.
“If the track firms up, his chances decrease, and if it stays in that soft range then his chances are better.”
The soft tissue swelling that sidelined Globe from the Cox Plate was minimal, Kent Jnr noted, and “required no intervention, just a spell and rest”.
Nominations stand for Globe in the Doncaster Mile (1600m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), with the carnival path undecided but Kent Jnr upbeat about prospects.
La Fracas will attempt to keep his first-up record intact in the Maurice McCarten Stakes, even as Kent Jnr points out 1100m is shorter than ideal for the sprinter.
If he doesn’t prevail Saturday, expect him to thrive on wet ground, per Kent Jnr.
“Mick (Price), in his time, thinks he’s one of the best wet trackers he has ever seen,” he said.
“His goal in life is to be up, fit, healthy and fresh when the rain arrives.
“We wouldn’t dismiss the idea of running him in a big sprint up there if the rain really teemed down.”
Berry takes the ride on Globe, with Williams on La Fracas. Fans can find competitive racing odds on the Ajax Stakes at top sports betting platforms.