Mick Price is looking to the spring with smart sprinter Stratcombe after he made it back to back 1100m wins on his home track at Caulfield.
The Stratum four-year-old rose two kilograms on his previous win on April 21 to 56kg for Saturday’s Manfred Phillips Handicap but it made little difference.
Craig Newitt had Stratcombe ($2.30 fav) settled second off race leader Fab Fevola and he sprinted clear in the straight to score by 1-3/4 lengths from It’s Crunch Time ($10) with Shock Value ($12) 1-1/4 lengths away third.
“He’s becoming a nice horse,” Price said.
“That probably puts his rating up to 98 or 100 so I’m thinking that’s about it. He’s had six starts this preparation so I’ll give him a break now and have a look at some of the better races during the spring .
“We’ve made the most of his earning potential at this point and we’ll step him up to black type next time in.”
Since being gelded Stratcombe has won four races and run second twice, taking his overall record to six wins from 11 starts.
He showed plenty of ability as a young horse but he was a barrier rogue.
However his manners have improved considerably since the operation and the application of a barrier blanket.
“It was a soft win and he gets a good 1200 metres. I’m not keen to take him beyond 1200 but he’s a nice horse,” Price said.
The Caulfield trainer said while Stratcombe ran one of his worst races at Flemington as a three-year-old when 11th as favourite over 1200m last June, he would like to try him down the straight there again which would open up his options.
Newitt described the victory as soft.
“He sat outside, relaxed. He was too good,” he said.
