The Jekyll and Hyde of Gary Portelli’s stable, Lord Zoulander constantly leaves his trainer guessing.
He cannot be certain which version of Lord Zoulander will turn up at Randwick but trainer Gary Portelli has his fingers crossed that it’s the competitive one.
The five-year-old mixes his form and while a handy galloper on his day, he can just as easily throw in the towel if he’s in a contrary mood.
He did just that last week when caught wide on the speed before dropping out of proceedings to finish eighth to Zorocat in the Midway Handicap.
Portelli is bringing him back for another bite of the cherry in Saturday’s 1200m edition of the race, hoping the best version of the horse fronts up.
“There are two of him,” Portelli said.
“I don’t like the one that doesn’t turn up, but the guy who does turn up every now and then, he’s pretty handy and that’s why I’m having another go. I don’t think we saw the real horse last week.”
Lord Zoulander has won four races, all on rain-affected tracks, but he did not enjoy the extreme conditions at Randwick last weekend, which Portelli described as a “ploughed paddock”.
“He likes it wet but that was a really tough track to get through and when he gives up, he gives up. He doesn’t hurt himself,” he said.
“We’ve given him a very easy week this week and hopefully the 1200 suits him more.”
Barn mate Above And Beyond resumes in the same race and while he prefers better ground, Portelli says he is coming to hand well.
“He was unlucky not to have won first-up last campaign when we went to the races just hoping he’d get around the track,” he said.
“He gets three kilos off for (apprentice) Ellen Hennessy on Saturday and while I don’t think he can win – the track is probably going to be too soft for him – I think he’ll run well.”
