General Salute boasts some of the best form lines of any horse competing at Rosehill on Saturday, and jockey Tim Clark says he only needs to race up to those to win the feature sprint on the card.
The gelding finished runner-up to star mare Autumn Glow in last year’s Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) and backed it up with consecutive placings behind Group 1 performers Headley Grange and Transatlantic in the Alan Brown Stakes (1400m) and Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) respectively.
“There are any of three or four runs in the spring which, if he replicated, he’d win the race on Saturday. Simple as that,” Clark said.
Punters may be more wary after General Salute weakened to finish midfield in the Civic Stakes (1400m) last start, a performance which followed a luckless second to the speedy Wanaruah in the Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m) first-up.
However, Clark felt the horse had excuses and predicted he would rebound in the Listed Winter Stakes (1400m) on Saturday.
“He was going from 1100 to 1400 . . . and I ended up being a bit close to what turned out to be a really fast speed. It just gassed him a little bit late,” Clark said.
“Now he’s had that run over 1400 under his belt, he will be a lot better for it.
“A bit of cut in the track won’t hurt, and he’s drawn one, so he’s going to have a much more economical run throughout.”
General Salute will enjoy a 3-1/2 kilo weight turnaround on Midnight Dynamite, and with the benefit of a 1400m run, Clark expects his mount to be much better equipped for what again promises to be a solidly run race thanks to the presence of Whinchat and Cool Jakey, who were one-two in transit last start.
“The two horses who set the speed are there again, so they’re going to go quick,” Clark said.
“But now he’s had that run under his belt over 1400, he’s going to be better for it and able to cope with that type of pressure.
“He did race a little bit keenly the other day, but it’s a far better set-up for him on Saturday.”
