Trainer Charlotte Littlefield and the team behind Big Swinger have lowered their expectations with the three-year-old and are hoping to open his city winning account at Caulfield.
The Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap (1200m) on Saturday will be Big Swinger’s sixth career start with the gelding successful on three occasions on provincial courses, but unplaced in two previous attempts in town.
Both those metropolitan efforts came in Stakes races, with Big Swinger’s last start being in Sydney in the Group 2 Arrowfield Sprint (1200m) at Randwick during The Championships.
Littlefield had hoped for success that day for Big Swinger to receive a ratings boost to then get him into a race like the Golden Eagle at Rosehill in the spring.
Unfortunately, the race did not go to plan and Littlefield and the team have lowered their sights.
“I brought him back from Sydney with our tail between our legs,” Littlefield told RSN.
“We went to Sydney with grand expectations that he could do something solid in that race and then leapfrog into something like the Golden Eagle.
“We’ve had to lower our expectations because we won’t have the ratings points to go to races like that in the spring.
“So, we’ll probably bypass the big ones, get him through this race, give him a bit of a break and then look to head to the rearend of spring and some of those races like The Meteorite at Pakenham.
“We’ve got to forget about race planning and consider the horse and take each run as it comes as he’s a big, raw, immature horse, and will be much better as a four and five-year-old.”
Big Swinger faces eight rivals on Saturday after two early scratchings, and Littlefield admits gate two may not be the best draw for the gelding.
Ben Allen has the sit under race conditions for the first time having partnered Big Swinger in a recent Caulfield Heath 1000m trial.
“He’s a horse that needs room and that’s all the instructions that I will give Ben, just give him enough room to wind up,” Littlefield said.
“He never got that chance up in Sydney. He got hemmed in on the fence in a farcical slowly run race and being a big striding horse, he needs that time to generate the natural wind-up speed and if he’s trapped on the fence, he won’t get that.
“We’ve just got to extricate him at the right time, give him the room, and that will be Ben’s only instruction he will be given.”
Littlefield is hoping she won’t be at Caulfield on Saturday to watch Big Swinger race, instead being in Brisbane to saddle The Muffin Man in the Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm.
The Muffin Man is second emergency and needs one more withdrawal after the scratching of the Ciaron Maher-trained Saint Emilion.
“I’ve changed my flight from Friday night to Saturday morning just in case,” Littlefield said.
“Hopefully I’m getting on that plane.”
