Mother and daughter training partners Lyn Tolson and Leonie Proctor have taken up the challenge to tackle open company with Well Sprung.
Having faced the starter on three occasions, the three-year-old lines up in the W J Adams Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday rather than a benchmark race at Moonee Valley on Friday night.
Well Sprung showed his credentials at his second start, taking out the Group Two McKenzie Stakes at Moonee Valley last August.
He was sent for a spell after finishing 11th behind Kinglike in the Danehill Stakes at Flemington in September.
“He was still growing and he launched out of the gates at Flemington and his hamstrings were really quite ordinary after the race,” Tolson said.
Well Sprung is over those issues and Tolson says he has filled out and strengthened during his absence from the track.
While Tolson concedes the three-year-old is poorly off at the weights, she will not be using it as an excuse against some quality sprinters.
If he can finish in the top five, Well Sprung will head to better three-year-old company with the Zeditave Stakes over 1200m on February 27 a likely target.
“The owners have a few races they’d like to head for and I think we need to know if he’s up to it before we go that way,” Tolson said.
“We can always go back, but at this time of year you’ve got to know what you’ve got.”
With Michael Walker, who rode him twice last year, sidelined following hip surgery, Damien Oliver takes the ride on Saturday.
Well Sprung is a $14 chance with the market headed by Atmospherical at $3.70.
