Having finished tailed-off in the VRC St Leger, Furioso is back to 2000m for another Flemington test.
Matt Cumani is none-the-wiser as to what is the best trip for Furioso who heads to Flemington for a middle-distance contest.
Furioso runs in the VRC Member Maureen Salter Plate (2000m) on Saturday, his first start since finishing tailed-off in the Listed VRC St Leger (2800m) at Flemington on April 25.
It was diagnosed post-race Furioso suffered atrial fibrillation which required the three-year-old to undergo an eco-cardiograph and gallop over 1000m in front of stewards before racing again.
At his previous outing, Furioso finished fifth over 2400m at Caulfield on April 10.
As a result of the St Leger flop, Cumani does not know whether Furioso is a true stayer or whether the ailment played a part.
“He may not have run the trip but he also suffered atrial fibrillation that day which explains the really terrible performance,” Cumani said.
“So, I don’t think it all could have been down to the trip. We have to hope that it was a one-off, which these things can be with atrial fibrillation.
“We’ve done all the necessary tests and galloped him to get him cleared and he is going really well.
“I’m very happy with the horse. He looks fantastic, he’s fit, a bit stronger.
“He’s still a horse that we’re still learning what his best distance is and that last race, the St Leger, didn’t tell us anything.”
Cumani said Furioso had been racing up on the speed in his two previous outings and hopes coming back to 2000m will allow him to settle and finish off.
“The way he’s been racing at his past two starts, he’s been happy to get to the front almost a bit too easily,” Cumani said.
“So, we thought we’d knock him back to 2000 metres for a couple of runs and see how goes and then potentially step him back up in distance.”
