After almost three years in the wilderness without a win, Inn Keeper has bounced back to form and will be chasing a hat-trick at Caulfield.
Trainers can be creatures of habit and Symon Wilde fits that bill.
He finds a proven formula, as he has done with his grand jumper Gold Medals, and now he is hoping a previously successful campaign will pay off with Inn Keeper in the Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Inn Keeper is coming off wins at Terang and Warrnambool in the lead-up to Saturday’s contest, a preparation Wilde used prior to the sprinter winning at Caulfield in 2018.
After that win at Caulfield, Inn Keeper went on to claim a win in the Golden Topaz at Swan Hill and Wilde again holds those aspirations this year at next month’s winter carnival.
“He seems to be going as well as ever, but he’s creeping up in the weight scale once again, but there’s been a bit of rain and we’ve kept him relatively fresh,” Wilde said.
“He’s a lovely sound horse that hasn’t been over-raced even though he’s seven, he didn’t start until he was four.
“And that’s the key with him, keep him going through winter. It is not as strong and he loves that tiny bit of give in the track.”
Inn Keeper won his first race in almost three years when successful at Terang last month before winning the Listed Wangoom Handicap (1200m) during the Warrnambool carnival earlier in the month.
“He won at Terang in what was probably the softest race he had been in for a long time,” Wilde said.
“He won that well even though there might have been a bit of bias to the fence and then down in the weights in the Wangoom he won quite impressively.
“He worked quite nicely at Mortlake on Monday. There’s rain forecast which is a plus and then it will be on to the Golden Topaz at Swan Hill.”
