Golden Monkey will chase his first win in Australia when he heads to Caulfield.
Former Singapore trainer Tim Fitzsimmons is searching for his maiden city winner which he hopes will come with Golden Monkey at Caulfield.
Golden Monkey runs in the MRC Chairman’s Club Handicap (1440m) on Saturday, his third run since returning from Singapore.
Since setting up at Bendigo and producing his first runner in February, Fitzsimmons has produced 42 runners for nine winners at a strike rate of 21 with a place strike rate of 52%.
“It’s been a good start with what we’ve got,” Fitzsimmons said.
“It’s been mainly the Singapore horses that have been running, but it’s going good.”
Golden Monkey has been unplaced in both Australian starts, finishing eighth on each occasion, firstly in the Country Discovery (1000m) at Echuca in April and most recently in the Golden Topaz (1200m) at Swan Hill.
Fitzsimmons was pleased with Golden Monkey’s first outing but was left disappointed with the Swan Hill performance.
“I do think it was a strange track that day, but I was disappointed in the way he didn’t let down,” Fitzsimmons said.
“He has trialled well since and I’ve put the blinkers back on him which he had in all his early wins over there (Singapore) just to stimulate him a little bit.
“Maybe he’s been going through the motions a little bit.
“I’m happy with him, I was happy with his trial, but I’d really like to see him hit the line strongly on Saturday, otherwise we might have to think about giving him a little break and a freshen up.”
Fitzsimmons was pleased to see the rain falling in Victoria and more importantly at Caulfield as Golden Monkey has a liking for a wet track.
What Fitzsimmons did not want to see was the appearance of Lim’s Saltoro in Saturday’s race.
Fitzsimmons bypassed a race at Sandown recently because of the presence of Lim’s Kosciuszko who was Golden Monkey’s nemesis in Singapore.
“I didn’t want to run against it as we were always running against it in Singapore, but now we have Saltoro,” Fitzsimmons said.
“It is what it is, but these are the races these horses have to run in.
“The 1400 metres is probably his trip, so what we want to see him finishing off his race strongly and if he can win, no-one would be happier.
“Hopefully there’s plenty of speed on and he’s flashing home late.”
