The Anthony and Sam FreedmanĀ stableĀ will be looking for a better result from Tom Kitten in the latest edition of theĀ MemsieĀ Stakes at Caulfield.
It was 12 months ago that Tom Kitten was scratched at the start of the Group 1 raceĀ over 1400m after becoming fractious in the barriers.
The result played havocĀ withĀ Tom Kitten’s spring campaign with the Godolphin-owned galloperĀ being forced toĀ play catch-up throughout the preparation.
The geldingĀ didĀ eventuallyĀ windĀ it up by running third to ViaĀ SistinaĀ on a very heavy Flemington track on the final day of Melbourne Cup week.
Tom Kitten resumed in the autumn to capture the Kevin Heffernan Stakes over 1400m first-up and returns to that trip on Saturday to beginĀ his spring campaign.
A $19 chance in latest betting,Ā SamĀ Freedman concedes thatĀ is a reflection ofĀ the quality of Saturday’s race.
Freedman said the latest weather conditions in Melbourne had not been ideal in preparing Tom Kitten for theĀ GroupĀ 1Ā MemsieĀ Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.
He said the five horses from the Chris WallerĀ stable ā Buckaroo, Angel Capital, Birdman, AutumnĀ BoyĀ andĀ BeiwachtĀ ā along with the Ciaron Maher-trainedĀ JimmysstarĀ allĀ likely hadĀ the wood on his galloper at this stage of his campaign.
“IĀ didn’tĀ envisage it coming up quite a strong as it is,” Freedman from SEN.
“I do think the SydneyĀ (prepared)Ā horses will have a bit of an edge on the Melbourne horses coming into the start of the spring is my view.
“They’veĀ had much warmer weather,Ā probably hadĀ good access to tracks and the horses genuinely look and feelĀ a little better to start off the spring.
“My view is that they start to even out once they get to that Caulfield Carnival and beyond.”
While Tom Kitten has been successful three times from seven first-up appearances, Freedman is expecting Tom Kitten to need the outingĀ on Saturday.
“He will improve with the run, but he was a fresh winner, in a much weaker race, last preparation,” Freedman said.
“ItĀ wouldn’tĀ be a shock ifĀ he’sĀ running very well and is steaming through them late, but I feel the Sydney horses may just have the edge.”
