The retirement of Group One winner The Quarterback has left a void in Robbie Griffiths’ stable.
But the show rolls on and Griffiths heads to Ballarat on Saturday with a team of four horses looking to add to his season tally.
Despite a hefty impost and resuming from a spell in the Sam Miranda Handicap (1200m), Griffiths is hopeful Single Note can emulate her performances from earlier in the year.
Single Note strung together four wins in succession through February, March and April but hasn’t been sighted since finishing ninth at Flemington on Anzac Day.
She is now a veteran of 25 starts, which include five wins, and Griffiths has always been confident Single Note can fulfil her promise.
“She had always shown us ability so it was more of a surprise to us that she hadn’t done it beforehand,” Griffiths said of her four straight wins.
“I went to the races confident of getting five but she shot off and Beau Mertens couldn’t hold her.
“It was obvious then that she had trained off.
“Now she’s starting another preparation with a big weight but she’s well and should run all right.”
Griffiths has engaged Ethan Brown who will take 3kg off Single Note’s 62kg on Saturday.
Divine Quality lines up for Griffiths in the Magic Millions 3&4YO Classic with the trainer admitting the mare hasn’t had the ideal preparation.
She was scratched from a 1500m race at Sandown last week and runs over 1100m on Saturday
“She’s a real talent but is coming back from 1400 metres (at her last start) to 1100 metres,” Griffiths said.
“She was down to run over 1500 metres last week so we’ll just have to see how she handles the drop back in distance.”
Griffiths is worried about the possibility of a firm track for Aurum Spirit who runs in the Suez Mckellar Mile while he describes Perfect Command, who runs in the Isuzu Ballarat Handicap, as a nice horse who has drawn horribly.
