After 18 months of planning, connections of Don’t Hope Do will get to see the fruits of their labour in a Group 1 sprint at Caulfield.
Trainer Simon Zahra said the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday was the best chance for Don’t Hope Do to become a Group 1 winner.
When in a training partnership with his cousin Mathew Ellerton they prepared Booker to win the 2019 Oakleigh Plate while he was the assistant trainer when Ellerton prepared River Dove (2023) and Miss Kournikova (2001) and working for John Hawkes when successful with Sports in 2000.
“Mathew and I won three, and we didn’t think Booker could win,” Zahra said.
“We sort of knew what type of horse it takes to win it, and whether this bloke is up to that class, time will tell, but the weight certainly helps.”
Don’t Hope Do is a four-time winner from 15 starts and a speedster with his wins ranging from 1000 to 1100m.
He has been to Stakes company just twice previously, finishing fourth in the Listed Wylie Handicap at Morphettville last September while most recently he was a first-up second in the Group 2 Rubiton Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on February 7.
“We’ve placed him quite well over the last 12 months, but I said to the owners, probably 18 months ago, the Oakleigh Plate was probably the race for him,” Zahra said.
“The 1100 (metres) at Caulfield, he loves it, he’ll get in with no weight, so that was the plan and, so far, it’s worked.
“We put him up against better sprinters in the Rubiton at set-weights and thought if he can compete with them then under handicap conditions in the Oakleigh Plate, he’ll run him.
“We didn’t have him screwed down, we left a little in the tank in case we got into the Oakleigh Plate and we’ve got him there.”
Oak Hill and Hedged, who finished first and third respectively in the Rubiton Stakes, both carry the same weight on Saturday as they did two weeks ago while Don’t Hope Do drops 4.5kg.
And in each of his three starts at Caulfield, Don’t Hope Do has finished in the placings, including a win last October.
“He loves it here, especially the 1100 (metres),” Zahra said.
“He might get to the front a bit easier with Jigsaw and some of those horses not running.
“We’ve drawn well, so we’ll see how we go.”
