Colin Scott has put his faith in a gear experiment on Speediness in the Scone Cup to help launch the horse on a path to the first proper spring campaign of his career.
Scott has resorted to making two gear changes on the horse he has always believed to be a spring prospect without ever having the chance to put him on timetable to make an impact during Victoria’s major racing carnival.
Speediness winning the TAB Sportsbet at Flemington - photo by Race Horse Photos Australia
“We’ve tinkered with a bit of different gear and I’ve put a one-eyed blinker on him to try and stop him hanging in,” Scott said.
“He did it badly last time at Hawkesbury.”
Victorian-trained Speediness, who started the first leg of a two-start NSW campaign with a third placing to Mouro in the Rowley Mile, will also race with a different bit in Friday’s $200,000 race.
He was uncomfortable making his run at Hawkesbury but Scott says there is every indication on the training track his fine-tuning has been successful.
“We worked him at Scone with the new gear and he worked brilliantly, so it’s all systems go,” he said.
Scott will call an end to Speediness’ campaign after Friday’s race to give him enough time to have the horse ready for the Melbourne spring carnival.
“I’m just going to try something different this time and not even think about Brisbane with the aim of trying to get him through a spring campaign,” Scott said.
“Something has always gone wrong before.”
In a race which has attracted a capacity field, Speediness has drawn a middle gate in barrier 10.
The five-year-old came from a similar barrier when runner-up to Sincero in the 2011 Scone Guineas.
His task of winning his first race outside Victoria became marginally easier when nominal favourite Beaten Up was scratched soon after acceptances.
Runner-up in the Rowley Mile, Beaten Up will run in the $500,000 Doomben Cup on Saturday.
In spite of Beaten Up’s defection, trainer Chris Waller will still hold a strong hand with Firebolt, Illo and Say No More from his all-conquering stable.
Among the main chances, topweight Fat Al has fared best with the barriers, coming up with gate two.
Rowley Mile winner Mouro will have to overcome stall 11 to complete NSW racing’s rich stand-alone meeting double.
