After carefully weighing up his options, Canberra trainer Matthew Dale has decided on the Testa Rossa Stakes at Caulfield as the next mission for exciting sprinter Fell Swoop.
Fell Swoop passed his first stakes test last Saturday week at Moonee Valley, winning a Listed 1200m sprint by 1-1/2 lengths to take his record to seven wins and a second from his nine starts.
The four-year-old gelding is one of 25 nominations for Saturday’s Listed Testa Rossa Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.
“I’ve been weighing up two options and have decided to run him on Saturday,” Dale said.
“So at this stage he’ll be accepted for on Wednesday and we’ll have a look at the field, but the plan is to run.”
Dale had been considering going straight to the Group Two Gilgai Stakes at Flemington next month.
“I’m quite keen to run him in the Gilgai down the straight on the 4th of October and it was just a matter of mapping out the best plan to get there,” Dale said.
“I was looking at the possibility of giving him a jump-out down the straight and then going into the Gilgai, but that option wasn’t available in a suitable time frame.”
Damien Oliver rode Fell Swoop to victory at Moonee Valley and will partner the sprinter again on Saturday.
Fell Swoop’s Moonee Valley win came at his first anti-clockwise start.
“It was pleasing to see him win his first test at Listed level, even though he didn’t really handle the bend all that well,” Dale said.
“But once he balanced up he was really strong late.
“I’m looking forward to bringing him back down.”
The Testa Rossa is one of three stakes races on Saturday’s program headed by the Group Three Naturalism Stakes which has attracted 30 entries including a host of horses trying to earn a Caulfield Cup start with the winner gaining an automatic berth.
