Trainer Chris Anderson has one main worry as he attempts to land his first black-type quinella at Doomben.
Anderson has Profit and Ballistic Boy in Saturday’s Listed Doomben Guineas (formerly Daybreak Lover Stakes) over 1600m where they look well placed under the set weights conditions of the race.
The pair are clearly the top-rated horses in the Guineas which now one of the major three-year-old races of the winter after the carnival was drastically reduced because of coronavirus restrictions.
Anderson had high hopes for Profit as a Queensland Derby horse and Ballistic Boy as a Queensland Guineas contender before those races were scrapped.
He is now wending his way through the carnival with the pair and has pinpointed the Group Three Rough Habit Plate as their main mission.
Profit and Ballistic Boy were last-start winners at the Sunshine Coast on April 25 which highlights Anderson’s main concern for Saturday’s race.
Both have raced well at Doomben but there is no doubt the pair are better on bigger tracks such as Eagle Farm and the Sunshine Coast.
“You saw at the Sunshine Coast that they are both big track horses,” Anderson said.
“They like to have those long stretches to reel in the opposition. Profit’s four wins have been at the Sunshine Coast and Eagle Farm and he was able to get into his rhythm.
“Profit has never missed a place on a big track. But he has been placed at Doomben and the tempo on Saturday will tell the tale with him.”
Anderson said while Ballistic Boy won his first start at Doomben as a two-year-old, he had also shown a liking for big tracks.
“His best runs have been at Eagle Farm and I think the Guineas would have been perfect for him,” Anderson said.
“I am not sure of him past 1600 metres but he might get out to 2000.
“Profit will get a strong middle distance.”
Profit and Ballistic Boy are both owned by syndicates from the Think Big Stud in NSW which has been building up its numbers with Anderson.
Anderson recently recorded his 200th career win which is an outstanding effort considering he has been training for only a short time.
“Most of those wins have come in the past three years. I have been lucky to have some great owners who have stuck by me,” Anderson said.
“A black-type quinella would certainly be a kick along.”
