Trainer Grahame Begg hopes he made the right call in electing to bypass a race at Caulfield for a weight-for-age contest at The Valley.
Begg had initially planned the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield last Saturday for Nonconformist but has instead opted for the Group 2 Feehan Stakes at The Valley on Saturday.
Begg was dismayed at how the Heatherlie Stakes turned into a one-act affair where the backmarkers failed to get into the race.
“It was ridiculously run, a non-event, so hopefully we’ve ended up pulling the right rein,” Begg said.
Nonconformist is on a path towards the Caulfield Cup and will be second-up in the Feehan Stakes having finished sixth to Sierra Sue in the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 14.
Begg said that contest did not offer Noncomformist the opportunity to be fully tested, but he was happy with how the gelding came through the run and how he has trained on since.
Part of Begg’s program to Saturday’s race was to take Nonconformist to Sandown on Monday.
“He had bowl down the back straight with Dr Drill,” Begg said.
“It was nice striding work, they weren’t out to break any records.
“It was a good opportunity to give him some time away from Caulfield, a change of environment, some stimulation and it was just what he needed.
“The three weeks between suits better than the two weeks, not that he had a hard run and when he was winning as a three-year-old, he enjoyed a bit of space between his runs.
“He’s not a horse that you need to race every two weeks, just so long as he’s happy.”
One thing Begg does not want to see is the rain that has been forecast, between 10 and 40mm.
“Hopefully we don’t get that,” Begg said.
Nonconformist is one of 19 nominations for the Group 2 race that provides the winner a ballot exemption into the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley on October 23.
Among entries on Saturday are Best Of Days, Cormorant, Dawn Patrol, Elephant, Port Guillaume, Realm Of Flowers, Sierra Sue and The Chosen One.
