The Doomben 10,000 hasn’t always been on the agenda for Rangirangdoo but trainer Chris Waller is warming to the gelding’s chances in next weekend’s Group One sprint.
Waller originally pencilled in the Doomben Cup (2000m) as a winter goal for his eight-year-old but it soon became obvious the race would come too soon.
That race still proved a triumph for the trainer with Beaten Up and Foreteller running a quinella for the stable on Saturday.
Waller said veteran Group One winner Rangirangdoo had taken longer to reach his peak than some of the others in his stable.
“I gave him a longer spell and he took a bit longer to come to hand. It put us behind the eight ball and weight-for-age horses are hard to place when you’ve missed their first races,” Waller said.
“We couldn’t work out a way to get him fit for the Doomben Cup.
“But we didn’t need to change anything, we just changed our race.”
Rangirangdoo resumed with a fighting fifth to star colt All Too Hard in the All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick last month.
The effort gave Waller enough confidence to press on to Saturday’s Doomben feature.
“I thought in the All Aged Stakes he ran particularly well and it was only 50 metres more than the Doomben 10,000,” Waller said.
“He’s probably got a better record over 1350 to 1400 metres than he does over 2000 anyway. I don’t think he’s won over 2000 metres, yet he’s got a great 1200 to 1500 metre record.”
Rangirangdoo tuned up for Saturday with a barrier trial at Randwick last week when he finished third behind Group One winners Manawanui and Epaulette.
Tim Clark partnered him in the trial and Waller confirmed he would be aboard in the 10,000.
Given Rangirangdoo’s injury-plagued history and the fact he is rising nine this year, there has been speculation Saturday’s race might be his last.
But Waller says there is no pre-emptive plan for retirement until the gelding shows he has lost his zest.
“The time frame is when he shows he’s not competitive he’ll be stopping,” Waller said.
“We won’t be giving him second and third chances, we’ll be pulling the pin.”
