The latest horse to come out of Toowoomba and attract a significant amount of attention will line up at Doomben on Wednesday in a Class 4 Handicap over 1350m.
Like the Toowoomba raised Incentivise and Hinged before him this year, the Tom Dougall trained Go Wandji has had prospective buyers reaching for their cheque books after winning five of his first seven career starts and placing second and third in his other two races … never finishing further back than just over a length.
In relative terms, the races Go Wandji has won have been modest events. A debut win at Dalby by 2.30 lengths at a starting price of $1.40 was followed up by a win at Chinchilla where he won by 3.50 lengths at a starting price of $2.70.
Nothing overly remarkable there, except that the way he was winning with ease was noteworthy and that his starting price indicated someone had great confidence in him performing to the level he ultimately displayed in those two runs, both over 1200m, which completed his first preparation.
After being spelled, Go Wandji resumed as a winner again, this time taking out a Class 3 event at Warwick over 1100m … and then it was time to step up and test his mettle in town.
A third place in his initiation into metropolitan racing was a fair enough effort by Go Wandji in a Class 3 at Eagle Farm. Go Wandji then also had to settle for second place when going back to Warwick for a BM55 Handicap, but he actually finished exactly where the betting said he would that day as he was not the favourite with the winner Festival Prince topping the betting boards on that occasion.
To put Go Wandji’s run there in perspective, he did carry 62kg and was beaten by 1.30 lengths with Festival Prince having a 4.5kg advantage at the weights. Festival Prince, who was winning for the third time in a row when defeating Go Wandji, would go on to further frank that form by also winning his two subsequent starts to take his winning sequence to five straight victories.
For all of that positive interpretation though, Go Wandji had yet to rubber-stamp his promise outside of the country circuit, which is why the results of his next two race were very important.
Go Wandji put two city wins on the board in emphatic fashion. Both runs represented a step up in both class and distance, meaning Go Wandji was now really being tested and he was coming through with flying colours.
First it was a BM70 Handicap win over 1350m at Doomben. If anyone was looking for a statement to be made … there it was … a 4.50 length drubbing of the vastly more experienced five-time winner Prinny’s Success who finished best of the rest.
Go Wandji’s starting price of $3 again suggested that his supporters were oozing confidence. In fact, in the thirteen strong field there, only two other runners were quoted at under double figure odds. Those supporters never had one moment of concern in the running.
Then, last time out, Go Wandji produced a second successive, authoritative city win … this time pushing the distance test up to 1400m in a Class 3 Plate at Eagle Farm. Few punters missed him this time. He started at the very restrictive odds of $1.16 and won by 1.75 lengths.
Clearly Go Wandji’s Star is on the rise but, if ever there was trainer who is unlikely to get ahead of himself, that trainer is Tom Dougall. Hence there is no dramatic, sudden reaching for the stars, just a quiet progression to Wednesday’s Class 4 Handicap contest at Doomben.
In truth, the lightly raced four-year-old is still learning his craft and the Class 4 Handicap should be just what the doctor ordered in terms of furthering his racing education. It looks a good call.
Larry Cassidy, who rode Go Wandji in those last two city wins agrees with a slow and careful, measured approach to Go Wandji’s program, at least at this stage.
“He has obviously been very impressive,” said Cassidy. “Going forward … he is still learning. He is still a little bit green, so he has got a lot of improvement to come.
“He still does a few things wrong. He can play up in the gates pretty bad. The first time I rode him he pinged the lids. The next time I rode him he was doing something else. He was kicking up and they said he was kicking up really high … and he blew the start a bit, so he is not bomb-proof, but he is a very promising horse, and he is a beautiful horse to ride in the race.
“If he goes ahead and wins at Doomben on Wednesday, then obviously I think they’ll have a crack at The Gateway which looks a perfect race for him … The Gateway just falls in a perfect place for him.”
The Gateway is a 1400m race at Eagle Farm. This year the race takes place on December 11, a perfect two-and-a-half weeks after Wednesday’s Doomben run with The Gateway’s big carrot being that the winner of that race is exempt from the ballot for the rich 2022 Stradbroke Handicap.
First things first though.
