An opportune overnight soaking has removed Sterling Alexiou’s only concern ahead of General Salute’s attempt to add the Sydney season’s final black-type race to his recent Winter Stakes triumph.
The gelding has recorded all four of his career victories on rain-affected ground. With Rosehill rated a soft 5 earlier in the week, Alexiou had been worried the surface might not be forgiving enough for General Salute.
However, after a thorough drenching on Thursday night, the track was posted a heavy 9 on Friday, thereby easing Alexiou’s fears.
“Possibly back to drier ground on Saturday would have been the only negative I could see,” Alexiou stated. “A lot of his best form is on soft tracks.”
General Salute’s successful run in the Winter Stakes (1400m) ended a 15-month drought from the winner’s circle, though the five-year-old had placed in six of his seven starts in between, including a second to Autumn Glow in last year’s Theo Marks Stakes (1300m).
In fact, General Salute has achieved a top three finish in 12 of his 18 career starts. If he can secure another victory in Saturday’s Listed Winter Challenge (1500m), he will push his prize money earnings to just shy of $1 million.
“It was good to see him bounce back, and bounce back into the winner’s stall,” Alexiou commented. “He’s held his own in terms of what he’s shown us at home since that win. It’s a nice start from the 1500 so it should give Nash (Rawiller) options from a middle-draw in a big field.
“If he can get a good spot, he’ll run his usual honest race and be a good winning chance.”
Not only would a strong showing be the ideal way for General Salute to conclude a profitable winter, but it would also propel him towards a potential Group 1 target.
A winner up to 1400m, he finished runner-up to Transatlantic in his only other start beyond that distance. If he proves strong over 1500m on Saturday, an Epsom Handicap (1600m) campaign will be considered.
“The idea of running him at 1500 is to give us a platform to see if he’s going to run a strong mile,” Alexiou explained. “If we think he might, he could be a lightweight Epsom chance.”
You can find competitive racing odds for the Winter Challenge at various betting sites.
