Peter Moody has had a tumultuous week and faces a dilemma of a different kind with talented three-year-old Bassett.
Moody has been at the centre of controversy this week over comments that stewards had investigated putting people into stables to work undercover.
Bassett
His problem with Bassett, winner over 1100m first-up at Caulfield on Saturday, is how to prepare him for the Caulfield Guineas in three weeks over 1600m.
“I’ve paid the late entry. That’s going to give me a few more sleepless nights than anything at the moment I think, trying to work out how I can get a good horse like this to the Guineas in three weeks,” Moody said.
“Do I back him up next week (in the Guineas Prelude), do I go straight there, do I look for a race the week before?
“Or do I take the low road and just keep poking through the grades. We’ll have a chat with connections in the next few days and make that decision.”
Bassett has moved to the third line of betting for the Caulfield Guineas at $7.
Moody noted there were also two 1600m Group One Guineas races in the autumn that could be considered when making decisions on Bassett’s immediate program.
Bassett had beaten Danehill Stakes-winning stablemate Kinglike on debut earlier this year over 1100m before heading to Brisbane at his second start over 1600m in a Group One.
The son of Savabeel started $4.20 on Saturday with Keen Array well supported to start $1.90 favourite.
Keen Array led with company on his outside but Bassett tracked up and overhauled his rivals under jockey Daniel Stackhouse to win by a length over Keen Array with Mawahibb a short head away third.
