Adrian Bott has no qualms about asking Supply And Demand to step up in trip yet again this campaign as the adaptable gelding targets the Kensei Handicap at Rosehill.
The four-year-old has never raced over 2000 metres but as Bott, who trains in partnership with Gai Waterhouse, pointed out, Supply And Demand hadn’t covered 1800m until he scored impressively at Rosehill on June 3.
That win convinced Waterhouse and Bott that Supply And Demand warranted an eighth start on Saturday in a campaign that started in February.
“That was the test. If at any point in time he’d shown that he wasn’t going to be able to handle it we always had the option to drop him back to the mile,” Bott said.
“He is quite brilliant. He’s got a great turn of foot which we’ve seen over the shorter trips. And he’s been very versatile. He’s won over a 1000 through to 1800 metres.
“He’s a very versatile horse in that sense. He’s won from off the speed and he’s won from on pace.
“He’ll handle whatever’s thrown at him on Saturday.”
While his last-start success firmed up plans for the weekend, Supply And Demand’s triumph on a heavy Warwick Farm track over 1600m on March 8 also influenced the decision to tackle a surface likely to be rain-affected.
“That was over a mile. He was able to jump and control the race he really looked comfortable in the conditions so we wouldn’t be afraid of a heavy track on Saturday,” Bott said.
Bott did not rule out Supply And Demand taking on even longer distances over the Sydney winter.
“The 2000 may be the limit but he may come out and prove that he could get a lot further,” he said.
“When they’re that far into their campaign and fit they can do quite a lot of things.
“He’s been up quite a while which is testament to the horse.
“He’s sort of selected the races for himself as he’s gone through the campaign.”
There were 17 entries taken for the race on Monday headed by superior wet tracker Destiny’s Kiss.
