John Sadler has no doubts Ms Funovits will be a better horse next season but the trainer has a simple reason for giving the two-year-old her chance at another win in Saturday’s VOBIS Gold Rush.
“It’s not very often you get to go to a place like Bendigo and race for $250,000,” Sadler said.
“It’s a big purse.”
Ms Funovits, a half-sister to the talented Chase The Rainbow, heads into the rich race at the country club’s stand-alone Saturday meeting having won her only start at Flemington in January.
On that occasion she beat the Peter Moody-trained Thermal Current and the David Hayes-trained Mount Zero.
Both have been competitive in stakes grade since.
Sadler has targeted the 1000m Bendigo race which is restricted to horses nominated to the VOBIS GOLD series.
“She’s going to be a better filly as a three-year-old, she’s not bred to be a two-year-old at all,” Sadler said.
“When she showed she was good enough to win up the straight at Flemington we thought we’d give her a little bit of a break and come back for this.”
The VOBIS Gold Rush has attracted a full field of 15 with two emergencies and includes the Tony McEvoy-trained Iconic who has close family ties to Black Caviar.
Iconic, a last start Bendigo winner, is a son of Black Caviar’s sire Bel Esprit and is out of Danavia who is a half-sister to the Black Caviar’s dam Helsinge.
Sadler is hoping to be a prominent player at the Bendigo meeting with chances also in the other two features.
He has Lonrockstar in the $150,000 Bendigo Guineas (1400m) and Prizum in the $150,000 Golden Mile (1600m).
The trainer believes Lonrockstar will run a big race.
“He’s an up and comer and he’ll run very well,” Sadler said.
“He goes to the paddock after this to get ready for the spring because I think he’ll be a nice spring four-year-old.”
Lonrockstar, like stablemate Ms Funovits, will be ridden by Glen Boss and takes on a capacity field of 16 with four emergencies.
Group One winner Wall Street headlines the Golden Mile field and has to lump 60kg.
