Ballarat trainer Darren Weir has called on in-form apprentice Daniel Stackhouse to get some weight relief for Royal Bender against the boys at Flemington.
Stackhouse’s two-kilo claim drops the filly’s handicap back to 55kg in Saturday’s Brian Beattie Hcp (1200m) after a series of runs with big weights.
The daughter of Refuse To Bend is one of two rides at Flemington for Stackhouse who has ridden a winner at nine consecutive metropolitan Melbourne meetings since he joined the Peter Moody stable last month.
He had his three-kilo claim reduced to two after he won on Pass Me By at Sandown on Wednesday.
His other ride at Flemington is Apollo Creed for trainer John McArdle in the Ken Cox Hcp (1420m).
Royal Bender hasn’t carried less than 56.5kg at her last four runs against fillies and last Saturday was beaten less than a length when second to Golden Penny shouldering 58kg at Moonee Valley.
“The winner camped on her back last week but she had no real excuses,” Weir said.
“She is racing well and hopefully she can run well again.”
Royal Bender has won four of her 16 starts and runs well at Flemington where she was successful as a two-year-old and finished second to Enzed Girl four starts ago on May 7.
Her only other run at Flemington was in the Group Two Kewney Stakes in March when she failed at 1400m which has been a bogey distance for her.
Weir is happy to keep her to sprint races for now and said another good performance at Flemington could give her a ticket to the Listed Reliance Petroleum Stakes (1050m), better known as the Dermody Stakes, at Morphettville on July 30.
“We might freshen her up after Saturday and have a look at that race with her,” Weir said.
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