Punters and bookmakers think Amexed won't run well in The Metropolitan
Punters and bookmakers seem to be able to find many reasons why Amexed can’t run well in the Metropolitan Handicap but his trainer can find a few to say he can.
Only one horse is at a longer price than Amexed in Saturday’s Group One staying test over 2400 metres at Randwick but Tony Gollan hopes those who frame the market have it wrong.
Amexed ran an even race when fifth in the Newcastle Cup won by Sacred Master who is one of the leading Metropolitan contenders.
“Obviously this is a different class but it is a handicap and he’s weighted accordingly and it’s a race that can throw up a surprise result,” Gollan said.
“He loves a big track. He’s a nice New Zealand-bred horse with a stout pedigree so I’m hoping he can go well.
“I know he’s a 50-1 chance but anything can happen in a handicap.”
As a three-year-old, Amexed won the Rough Habit Plate and ran fifth in the 2014 Queensland Derby won by Sonntag.
His record shows he has won three races but Gollan will fight to have that adjusted back to four after Amexed lost his win in the Stayers’ Cup at Ipswich in July because of a positive test to an anti imflammatory.
As well as Amexed losing the race, Gollan was fined $8000.
“I have appealed the decision,” Gollan said.
The premier Brisbane trainer is in the process of establishing a stable at Rosehill where he has 20 boxes.
“At the moment there’s only three horses there including one trained by Glenn Thompson who is going to run things in Sydney,” Gollan said.
“I will come down every week and we will sort out which horses will be in Sydney and which ones stay in Brisbane.
“We can transfer them back and forth if they don’t measure up in Sydney but we have a lot of BOBS bonus horses which of course the owners want to run in New South Wales.”
Thompson comes from a famous Sydney racing family as thej som of Vic Thompson and brother of Randwick trainer John Thompson.
