A change of shoes has brought about a change of fortunes for Cath’s Village who chases a fourth consecutive win when she runs at Caulfield.
Cath’s Village runs in Saturday’s Whisky Wine & Fire Volvo Cars Brighton Handicap (1200m) after recording three successive wins on the provincial circuit.
A first-up winner for Kevin Corstens at Moe in February, after joining the trainer following the disqualification of Darren Weir, Cath’s Village went winless four times before scoring at Cranbourne last month.
“We had a couple of issues with her,” Corstens said.
“She was coming through and hitting herself with her back legs.
“It took us a couple of runs to get her right but she’s got the confidence now where she’s not going to hit and hurt herself, so I think that’s been the contribution to her finding her form.”
Corstens said his farrier Julian Holland had played a major part in getting Cath’s Village over her problems.
“He’s a great farrier. We put our heads together and talk about the horse,” Corstens said.
“We discuss things and he’s quite creative and he’s been a big part of Cath’s Village finding her form.”
Saturday’s race was not Corstens’ first choice, but rain in Melbourne has put the track in the soft range and forced a rethink.
Corstens was originally looking at a 1400m-race at Flemington on Saturday week.
“Because it’s been raining and she’s got form on wet tracks we’re looking for that type of track to give her an advantage,” Corstens said.
Stablemate Arancini runs in the Ladbrokes Odds Boost Handicap (1440m) looking to overturn a last-start defeat by Begood Toya Mother.
The pair meet again on Saturday with Arancini having a 4kg weight advantage for being beaten a length.
“I asked the jockey to get a bit of cover with him last time but he jumped too well,” Corstens said.
“Had he had the same run as the winner it might have been a different story, but that’s racing for you.”
