OTI Racing’s Terry Henderson can’t wait to get back to the races next Saturday but he’s got to make a choice as to which venue he will attend.
Henderson will have Attorney and Haky representing his team in the Listed Pakenham Cup while OTI Racing is the major sponsor of the Balnarring Cup picnic meeting, which is also a popular event.
“It’s going to be an exciting day. There should be a bit more crowd movement and with that a bit more atmosphere,” Henderson said.
“I’d like to be in both places but I’ll probably be at Pakenham.”
Henderson believes they have two great chances in the $300,000 Pakenham Cup run over 2500 metres next Saturday in emerging stayer Attorney and also Haky.
The Matthew Smith-trained Attorney ran on strongly to finish fourth to Sound in the Zipping Classic last start.
Henderson said Attorney wasn’t suited by the slow tempo and turned in a good effort to finish as close as he did.
Attorney will be ridden by Nash Rawiller, who has returned to Victoria from Sydney to spend Christmas with his family.
Henderson believes Attorney has the right form to win the Pakenham Cup.
“He’s got to be one of the leading chances in the race. He’s come back to work a more settled horse and he’s had a good campaign,” Henderson said.
“Like many of these overseas horses he started with a bang out here then had a flat campaign but he’s back on track now.”
Henderson hoped he could prove to be a Cups horse next spring.
Smith said the horse had come through the Zipping Classic well and hadn’t had a strenuous campaign.
“All the signs are that he’s ready for the race,” Smith said.
Haky finished ninth in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes won by another OTI horse in True Self but Henderson said he wasn’t suited by being ridden quietly.
Before that he finished third in the Bendigo Cup.
“I think he’s going really well but the riding tactics of drifting back haven’t worked. He’ll take up a forward position,” he said.
Henderson will also be keeping an eye on their veteran galloper Gailo Chop who will run in the Kingston Town Classic at Ascot, a race he finished second in last year.
Henderson said Gailo Chop’s last in the Railway Stakes should be forgiven as he went too fast in the lead.
“He ran 21.2 seconds for the 400 metres between the 1400 metres and the 1000 metres and you have to stop when you do that,” he said.
Gailo Chop is a 10-year-old and Henderson indicated the Kingston Town Classic could be his last run.
