Trainer Gavin Bedggood has a couple of options for Just Folk at Caulfield as he prepares the galloper for an early spring goal.
Just Folk features among entries for the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m), run at weight-for-age on Saturday along with the benchmark 100 handicap (1600m) in which he has been allotted 62kg.
Both races lead to a likely start in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield on August 29 which is the official opening of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.
The forecast for Saturday looks ideal for Just Folk who excels on wet ground as when nominations closed on Monday, the track was rated a Heavy 9.
Of Just Folks 10 wins from 53 starts, five have been on soft tracks and he has a further nine placings from 21 attempts with three wins coming on heavy ground and three placings from nine starts.
“The forecast looks promising for him to get his preferred ground,” Bedggood said.
“He ran super in the Winter Championship, and he went up and ran second in Sydney, in a Stakes race.
“We just got beaten fair and square by a better horse on the day.”
Just Folk finished third in the Winter Championship Final (1600m) at Flemington on July 4 before running second in the Winter Challenge (1500m) on July 18.
Having just turned 10, Bedggood said he liked the idea of running for $200,000 in prize money in the HeatherlieStakes as Just Folk was likely to have a fitness edge on his rivals.
“I remember Dean Lester telling me, eight or nine years ago that the Heatherlie is a race that’s always won by the horse that’s come through winter, fit, and puts itself up on speed,” Bedggood said.
“I would think that that’s his sort of race to be winning.It’s the Caulfield Cup kick-off for a lot of horses, and hopefully, he can be Johnny on the spot.
“Looking at the forecast on Saturday, there’s a chance it will be wet and the way Caulfield has been racing as well, it might suit him too.”