Sydney’s wet weather has resulted in the Richard and Will Freedman stable sending a runner south to Flemington in the hope of finding firmer footing for Love Tap.
Both the Rosehill and Flemington tracks are rated in the heavy range on Friday ahead of Saturday’s meetings, but if there is no rain the Melbourne track may likely to improve into the soft range.
It is for that reason that the Freedman father-and-son training duo has sent Love Tap to Flemington for the VRC-CRV Winter Championship Series Plate (1400m) on Saturday.
“He’s going super,” Will Freedman said.
“We have sent him to Melbourne in the hope he will find a better track and that long Flemington straight should suit him.
“He can work through his gears and will be hitting the line late.”
Love Tap resumes on Saturday having not started since finishing third over 1800m at the Magic Millions meeting on the Gold Coast on January 15.
That followed a fifth-place finish at that track a week earlier.
Love Tap has trialled twice at Rosehill on wet tracks in preparation for his return and Freedman said they are hopeful the gelding is forward enough to run well on Saturday.
“He has been a first-up performer in the past so we’re optimistic he will run well and we’re hoping we can build him into a good miler and even beyond if he keeps going,” Freedman said.
“He showed a lot of early ability and then plateaued a bit, so we are hoping he takes the next step.”
Freedman said Love Tap was likely to return to their Rosehill base after Saturday’s outing.
As a Group 3 winner of the Gloaming Stakes as a three-year-old, Freedman said some upcoming stakes races like the Listed Civic Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on June 25 and the Listed Winter Stakes (1400m), also at Randwick the following month, were likely to be on Love Tap’s agenda.
“He is a horse I think will be progressive this preparation during the winter,” Freedman said.
