A sharp drop in the standard of opposition is expected to help stakes-winning stayer Canny Ballad return to form at Doomben.
Canny Ballad will make his Brisbane debut in Saturday’s Bottle-O Handicap (2200m) where he will meet a line-up inferior to his recent Sydney opponents.
The gelding was originally trained by the late Guy Walter and won the Listed 2014 Albury Gold Cup.
After Walter’s death, Canny Ballad went to Joe Pride and his best performance in eight starts was a second to Multilateral in the Listed Wyong Gold Cup last September.
Canny Ballad was then transferred to John Thompson but has struggled recently against Sydney company.
He has run last in both his runs this campaign and Thompson decided to send him to his Brisbane stable to get his confidence back.
“He didn’t have much luck last start at Rosehill but I think at this time of the year Brisbane is the place for him,” Thompson said.
“The staying races in Brisbane are a bit inferior to Sydney especially at this time of the year.
“The opposition doesn’t look overly strong and I would expect him to be competitive.”
“He has been in Brisbane for a week and seems to have settled down well. Provided he races well he will stay in Brisbane and chase more middle-distance races.”
Thompson said Canny Ballad hadn’t had any problems and was sound.
“But if you look at his overall form he has been going around in a lot of stakes races – Group Three and Listed,” he said.
“This is a lot easier and you would hope it will make the difference.”
Veteran jockey Glen Colless will ride Canny Ballad and Thompson believes his style will suit the gelding.
“Glen is a cool rider and he will be able to get Canny Ballad to settle,” Thompson said.
