Gold Coast trainer Toby Edmonds will make a special trip to Eagle Farm to monitor the return of three-year-old Ruuca.
The colt will be on trial for a Sydney trip when he has his first run since the Melbourne spring carnival in Saturday’s Family Raceday Plate (1000m).
Ruuca won at Moonee Valley in October but then finished last in the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) won by Exceedance at Flemington on November 2.
Edmonds, who trains in partnership with his son Trent, will host a function and horse parade on the Gold Coast on Saturday but will slip away for a quick visit to watch Ruuca run.
He said there had been excuses for the seemingly poor Coolmore run.
“He got stripped behind in the run so his effort was no guide at all,” Edmonds said.
“It is obviously a massive drop in class on Saturday and he has drawn well.”
“Ruuca also had an easy trial when he finished third so things are going OK.”
“But you can’t get too far ahead of yourself.”
Ruuca will head to Sydney for the Listed Darby Munro Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 21 if he races well on Saturday.
“It is about his standard at the moment and after that we will see about the winter,” Edmonds said.
Edmonds has always had a big opinion of Ruuca who has had only four starts to date.
“From day one he has shown plenty of ability and it is time for him to live up to the wraps on him,” Edmonds said.
A win on Saturday will boost Ruuca’s prize money to more than $100,000 which should ensure he gets into the better stakes races in coming months.
Edmonds would love to win some black-type with Ruuca who has the bloodlines to be a stallion later in his career.
The colt, who cost $150,000 as a yearling at the Magic Millions Sales, is by stallion Rubrick out of the mare Mining Tycoon.
“He comes from a really good family of Tycoon Tracey so he has the right bloodlines,” Edmonds said.
Ruuca is one of a strong book of rides for Robbie Fradd who is now second on the metropolitan premiership ladder and leads the state premiership
After Wednesday’s Doomben meeting Fradd has 42-1/2 wins in Brisbane, six behind apprentice Baylee Nothdurft, and 61-1/2 overall in Queensland.
