Hurstville Zagreb has caused his trainers a few sleepless nights of late, prompting John O’Shea and Tom Charlton to revert to what has worked in the past in a bid to reignite his form.
The gelding was being prepared for a Derby campaign when he injured himself in a race day incident during the autumn, but since posting an impressive second-up win over a mile at Warwick Farm in October, he has disappointed in three subsequent runs over longer journeys.
Those efforts have forced O’Shea and Charlton into a rethink, and as a result Hurstville Zagreb will drop back in distance for Saturday’s Schweppes Handicap (1600m) at Randwick.
“He just hasn’t been himself at his last couple of runs,” Charlton said.
“He’s had us scratching our heads a little bit. We thought we’d go easy on him for a few weeks and come back to a trip he’s been effective over.
“Whether he isn’t a stayer like we thought he might be. He’s got us thinking.
“To us, he seems like he’s going as well as he was in everything he shows us at home, so maybe just going back to what has worked will help.”
Hurstville Zagreb has been given three weeks between runs since he led and faded to finish sixth to Kind Words over 2000m at Rosehill on December 7.
He has drawn barrier seven and will have the services of Zac Lloyd, who partnered him to his Warwick Farm win.
