Brisbane has been a happy hunting ground for Victorem and another winter carnival raid is on the cards if he performs on the final day of The Championships.
Health issues have hindered Victorem at two of his past three starts but trainer Jenny Graham is optimistic her stable star can rebound in the G3 Hall Mark Stakes at Randwick.
The winner of eight of his 22 starts, Victorem was spelled after pulling up lame from his unplaced effort in last year’s Stradbroke Handicap.
Tests revealed a chip in a fetlock so connections game him the time he needed to recover.
He resumed with an encouraging third to Masked Crusader in the Southern Cross Stakes in February and Graham was anticipating a similarly competitive performance in the Canterbury Stakes but Victorem failed to beat a rival home.
“His performance, naturally I was disappointed with, but he pulled up with heart arrhythmia which explained why we went so poorly,” Graham said.
Victorem has since trialled strongly at Randwick and with another Brisbane winter carnival visit on the radar, Graham wants to see a positive run on Saturday.
“I’d be disappointed if he can’t finish in the first four. He has pulled up well from his trial and his next lot of work has improved again,” Graham said.
“We will head back to Brisbane and probably go back down the Stradbroke path. We can’t give up that easily.
“He’s been a great horse to our stable and whatever happens now, he has already done a great job.”
With Alfa Oro an early scratching, Victorem will take on eight rivals in the Hall Mark Stakes, headed by early favourite Eleven Eleven.
