Once Uncommon James had recovered from a tough Caulfield run, Brisbane trainers Steven O’Dea and Matthew Hoysted had no hesitation in sticking to their original plans.
When commencing the campaign of Uncommon James last month, the trainers had picked out the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday as the sprinter’s Grand Final.
Uncommon James finished third to Imperatriz in the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) first-up before blinkers were applied when the gelding was second to Asfoora in the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on October 14.
The sprinter did have a tough run that day facing the breeze outside of the winner after wanting to go too hard in the blinkers.
Those blinkers have been removed for Saturday’s contest.
Hoysted said the stable was concerned how much of a toll that last start took out of Uncommon James.
“We were a bit mindful of that and whether we would go to this race, but the way he came through it has given us a bit of confidence to come here,” Hoysted said.
“He’s smashed his feeds since that run, and he’s really bounced through it well.
“He’s probably at peak fitness now.
“He’s as good as he can be and hopefully, we can see him relax a little better with the blinkers coming off now and being back to his normal self.”
Hoysted said there had been no thoughts of sidestepping Imperatriz who has produced record-breaking wins in her past two Moonee Valley victories at 1000m.
“This was always going to be our Grand Final and the race he was going to be best suited in,” Hoysted said.
“The Moir at the 1000 (metres) was going to be the query and we felt he just needed that extra run into this.
“We can’t be happier with him and there will be no excuses on Saturday.”
