Black And Bent’s shot at an Australian jumps racing record will take place on Wednesday at the same venue where his streak started more than three years ago.
It is no wonder the extra few days wait from Sunday’s abandoned program at Mornington and the change of track is of no concern to the champion hurdler’s trainer Robert Smerdon.
The three jumps races from Sunday’s abandoned meeting, including the Jack Dow Memorial Hurdle (3300m) featuring Black And Bent, were added to Wednesday’s Sandown program and form part of an 11-race card.
Victory for Black And Bent at Sandown will give him an Australian record 10 successive wins over the jumps.
“I’m not unhappy about the switch to Sandown,” Smerdon said.
“It’s going to suit him a lot better than Mornington.”
Black And Bent, who shares the record of nine consecutive jumps wins with Lots Of Time, hasn’t started in a hurdle race in more than a year.
His winning sequence started with a hurdle win at Sandown in April 2010 and has included an Australian Hurdle and a Grand National victory.
He has won four races on the flat during that period as well.
Smerdon also has Kirribilli Gold in the Great Southern Steeplechase (3300m), another of the races added from Mornington.
“The extra three days makes no difference to either horse,” Smerdon said.
The eight flat races includes the Australian Hotels Association Plate (1000m) for two-year-old fillies where the Anthony Freedman-trained Minaj is set to resume.
Freedman was forced to withdraw Minaj from the rich Karaka Million in New Zealand in January when the filly got a temperature.
“She was over there and got crook,” Freedman said.
“She had a spell over there and then came back.”
Minaj won on debut at Mornington in December and then finished fourth to ill-fated filly Ms Funovits at her only other start at Flemington.
“She seems to have come back OK, but I don’t know about the heavy ground,” Freedman said.
