A crack at the Group One Oakleigh Plate is on the radar for Thermal Current
A crack at the Group One Oakleigh Plate is on the radar for the Darren Weir-trained Thermal Current after he charged home late to win a Listed race at Caulfield.
Thermal Current went into Saturday’s WJ Adams Stakes (1000m) after a last-start win at Flemington on January 14 and Weir was confident of another big showing.
With Damian Lane aboard, Thermal Current settled back in the field before travelling up behind the leaders early in the straight.
He burst through horses at the 100m to defeat Shakespearean Lass by a neck with a length to Sunday Escape third.
“I thought he would run really well today,” Weir said.
“He won really well at Flemington last start and he had gone on since then.
“When he trucked up behind them today, I thought ‘well he gets his chance’. And he let down well.”
Thermal Current could have his next start in the Group One Oakleigh Plate (1100m) in three weeks.
“You’d have to have a think about it the way he went there,” Weir said.
The $2.35 favourite Faatinah weakened in the straight to finish seventh and post-race stewards questioned jockey Regan Bayliss about why he stayed several horses off the fence.
Bayliss said he thought he would easily have the speed to cross but said the sprinter wasn’t travelling well enough to get to the lead and didn’t let down on the “firm ground” in the straight.
He said he had Luke Nolen on Divine Ten inside him and he decided to keep Faatinah balanced where he was in running.
“There’s only one corner over 1000 metres and I didn’t think I was going well enough to cross over to the fence,” he said.
“I thought I was on the best sprinter in the race and I kept him balanced around the bend.”
Stewards told Bayliss they thought he made an error in his decision to not cross over closer to Nolen’s mount to see what eventuated.
A post-race veterinary examination reported Faatinah to be “scratchy” in his action with an uneven gait in front.
