Tuvalu will be out to improve on his unbeaten record when he returns to racing at Flemington.
With wins at Warrnambool and Sandown under the belt before a break, trainer Lindsey Smith says the son of Kermadec was around 90 per cent fit for the K A Morrison Handicap (1400m) on Saturday.
Tuvalu recorded a seven-length win on debut at his home track of Warrnambool in January before coming out the following month to register a 2-½ length victory at Sandown over 1400m.
Smith has a good opinion of the rising four-year-old, but feels Tuvalu is around six months away from revealing his full potential.
For that reason, Smith is reluctant to push the gelding too hard this campaign, preferring to work him through the grades and build his profile.
“I still think he needs another six months, so he’ll go through some low-grade races and hopefully this time next year he’ll be in better class,” Smith said.
“He’s a nice horse. You don’t win races by seven lengths, even if it is in the country, especially on debut, if you’re not a smart horse.”
Tuvalu was ridden to victory by Ethan Brown in his first two wins, but Warrnambool-based rider Declan Bates takes over on Saturday.
Smith said Tuvalu had performed well in jump-outs in the western-districts of Victoria and had drawn ideally in barrier one.
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of speed and he has led in his couple of starts, so it wouldn’t hurt if he ended up in front,” Smith said.
“He isn’t rock-hard fit but he’s up past 90 per cent, so it will be interesting to see how he goes on Saturday.”
Tuvalu is currently the $3.60 favourite with TAB with the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Sir Davey best supported, firming from $7 into $5.
