Sons Of John would be suited by a soft track at Rosehill
Jason Attard laughed when he recognised the irony of his preferred weather forecast for Sydney this week.
Ideally the Hawkesbury-based trainer wants the track at Rosehill downgraded from good to soft to suit six-year-old gelding Sons Of John – the type of conditions that were prevalent during the autumn carnival.
“We’re hoping the track doesn’t get too hard funnily enough. We’ve had all this wet weather and now I’m worried about the track being too dry,” Attard said.
Attard’s desire for wet weather – which is not predicted before Saturday – is understandable considering Sons Of John thrived on a heavy track at his previous start on April 15.
He finished second to the Anthony and Edward Cummings-trained Top Of My List in the Group Three Japan Racing Association Plate (2000m) at Randwick and tackles the same distance this weekend in the Listed Lord Mayors Cup.
“He’s come through his last run exactly how we wanted him to,” Attard said.
Attard believes Sons Of John can stretch out to 2400m and the McKell Cup at Randwick on May 27 is on the cards providing he recovers from this weekend’s exertions.
“He likes his three weeks between runs so that could work in perfectly,” Attard said.”
The Lord Mayors Cup field is finalised on Wednesday with Attard nominating the horses carrying the minimum weight as the main dangers to Sons Of John who has 58.5kg.
“He does carry weight well but with a large amount of the other horses carrying four to five kilos less it is always a bit of a worry,” Attard said.
Glyn Schofield has the ride for the third time this preparation and will receive the same instructions.
“I’d prefer him to be in the first four with cover, with one or two horses in front of him,” Attard said.
“That’s where he races the best. He can sit there and relax and then he’s got a good finish when he straightens up.”
