Newly located Newcastle trainer Sam Kavanagh is eager to shed his Midway maiden tag as he lines up More Sundays on Saturday at Rosehill.
Having recently relocated his training operations from Muswellbrook to the Hunter Valley, Newcastle trainer Sam Kavanagh is eager for success in the Midway, and is hoping More Sundays will be able to bring that ambition to fruition on Saturday at Rosehill.
In what has thus far been a tricky preparation to manage for Kavanagh, the son of Fastnet Rock put his best foot forward on the quick backup second-up from a spell for a comprehensive win, before struggling to find the frame last week at Randwick when up in grade.
Dropping back to Benchmark 72 level on Saturday and once again on the seven-day back up, Kavanagh is confident that his six-year-old will be able to take a strong account of himself in the 1300m Midway.
“They didn’t go very quick (at Randwick) and because of that he got up on the bridle and didn’t finish off,” Kavanagh said.
“He needs a genuine tempo, firm ground and then he needs to get into a race on his own terms, when he does that he looks very good, but if things don’t go his way he just looks flat.
“He does thrive on the backup. When he backed up at Newcastle, he brained them and ran a good figure.
“He’s fit. I think there’s genuine tempo (on Saturday), we will just ride him quiet; Hugh (Bowman) is the right rider to do that sort of thing and we will have him charge late – I’m confident he can run top three.”
Joining More Sundays on the float is nine-year-old veteran Sikandarabad.
Set to resume in Saturday over 1500m in BM88 grade, the Group 1 placed gelding may be held off for an extra week due to the firm Rosehill surface.
Having found the line well in two adequate trials in readiness, Kavanagh is confident there is still some good racing left in the mature gelding.
“He’s thrived since being here at Newcastle; I think he’s in for a great prep,” Kavanagh said.
“He was ticking over well last campaign and should’ve probably won a Muswellbrook Cup, but went to Hawkesbury on a very firm track and didn’t finish off – I couldn’t get him right after that.
“The plan was to go Saturday and then run the Parramatta Cup in three weeks and then look towards something like the Canberra Cup, but with rain around next week I will probably hold off because I think he needs a softer surface.
“He’s certainly come back well and I think he’s definitely going to win something this prep for the owners.”
The last of Kavanagh’s runners on Saturday is The Fossil who is engaged at Newcastle over 1400m.
Savaging the line fresh for fifth at Rosehill in the Midway, Kavanagh is bullish about the gelding’s chances on his home surface, and views it as the perfect pathway to next month’s Provincial-Midway Championships’ heats.
“He’s another horse that’s thrived since making the move to Newcastle,” Kavanagh said.
“I thought he was very stiff (in the Midway). With any luck he comes to the outside and gets the money.
“We’re expecting him to win Saturday and head to the Championships, where he can go two weeks into a 1500m Midway into the Kembla Grange heat (March 11), or he can go straight to the Newcastle (February 24) and have two rolls of the dice in the heats.
“He’s good on a firm track but he’s excellent on a Heavy track, so we are looking at something like the Kembla Grange heat that has been washed out a few times.”
The first heat of the Provincial-Midway Championships kicks off on February 24 at Newcastle, with the final to be run on April 9 at Randwick.
