Ferlax is ready to maintain his progression through the grades when he tackles some of the country’s best three-year-olds in the Randwick Guineas.
Modesty prevents trainer Jim Conlan from taking too much credit for the stunning progress of his Australian Guineas winner Ferlax.
But as he prepares the colt for a Sydney campaign commencing in Saturday’s Randwick Guineas, Conlan is maintaining a role that is a lot more than “hands-on”.
“A lot of what we’re doing with him is trial-and-error,” Conlan said.
“We monitor all the normal things, his blood and things like that.
“But I suppose it’s an advantage that I get a proper feel for how he’s going from riding him in most of his work.”
Since Ferlax began his first preparation last spring, Conlan has had control of almost all of the trialling and is yet to make an error.
Ferlax has risen without defeat from an Echuca maiden last November to restricted class at Benalla and Sale, to the Group One Australian Guineas at Flemington.
Conlan said Ferlax given him a similar feel to the best horse he’s trained in a gallop before the Guineas.
“The way he towed me up the hill when I galloped him at home was something I hadn’t felt in a horse since Rekindled Interest,” Conlan said.
Ferlax takes on the top flight of three-year-olds in Saturday’s Warwick Farm race, but his trainer is undaunted.
“Everything points to him being at least in the same form as he was at his last start,” he said.
“He’s done a bit of light work and this morning when I rode him he felt as good as he did before Flemington.”
Conlan took the opportunity to walk the Warwick Farm circuit last week and he says the track doesn’t seem “overly tricky”.
“It wouldn’t be any tighter than Echuca and Benalla,” he said.
“And my track at home is right-handed and he does all his work the Sydney way.”
Ferlax has the Rosehill Guineas and the Australian Derby pencilled in as further autumn ambitions, but Conlan will need a lot of convincing to take the colt the full distance.
“The Guineas is a realistic option if he comes through Saturday in good shape, but I doubt that we’ll push on to the Derby,” he said.
Rebel Dane is sharing favouritism for the Randwick Guineas with Proisir and they dominate first markets ahead of It’s A Dundeel.
