Mitch Freedman is unsure if Attrition will resume at Rosehill this weekend, but the one certainty of his campaign is a trip there later in the year.
The Ballarat trainer again has a ring around the Hill Stakes, which will be decided on October 10, as the major spring target for the Group 1 winner.
The Group 2 Hill Stakes is a 1900m race worth $2 million, which Attrition won in 2024 before a second placing to Lindermann last year.
“The Grand Final is the Hill Stakes again and whatever happens after that is a bonus,” Freedman said.
“He’s very similar to what he’s been the last couple of seasons, but we’ve probably played around with his preparation a bit because we had longer to start at ground zero with him, so we’ve just been able to get a bit more work into him early on.
“Hopefully that mean it’s pretty smooth sailing with him from the get-go.”
Along with the $200,000 Spring Preview (1400m) at Rosehill, Attrition has been nominated for Saturday’s $300,000 Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
He hasn’t started since an 11th placing in the Carlyon Cup (1600m) on February 7, which followed a first-up last placing in the Barton Stakes (1400m).
“He wasn’t showing us anything at home that would suggest that he wasn’t going to run any good at the races, so it was a bit of a welcome relief when he had a bit of a virus coming out of that second run and it just gave us a reason why he might not have been at his best last prep,” Freedman said.
It also has not been smooth sailing with Freedman’s other Rosehill nomination, Asakura, who fell ill after returning home from his spell following his fourth placing in The Kiwi on March 7.
But Freedman was happy with what he saw from the gelding – who, like Attrition is a son of Churchill – in two jumpouts in the second half of July and said he would be given every opportunity to prove himself worthy of a shot at the $10 million Group 1 Golden Eagle (1500m) at Randwick on October 31.
“He’s still a little bit immature, so anything he does over the next 12 months is a bonus and we’d be expecting him to improve as he gets older,” Freedman said.
“He’s a nice horse and he’s got ability so if he can’t get it done this prep then we can certainly be happy that we’ve got a nice horse and look to improve in preps down the track.”
Asakura, who was runner-up to Sixties in the Group 3 CS Hayes Stakes (1400m) the start before the 1500m The Kiwi, is entered for the 1200m BM94 at Rosehill along with the Group 3 Regal Roller Stakes (1200m) and the 1400m BM90 at Caulfield.
Freedman’s other entry of note this weekend is brilliant debut Bendigo winner Sharaz, who is in the $200,000 Group 3 Vain Stakes (1100m), but Freedman is contemplating trialling him before returning to the races.
