The Kelso Wood-Patricia Gesler training partnership is hoping its first winner can translate into a first stakes success.
The Wood-Gesler combination won with three-year-old Vienna Power at Ipswich on Saturday with attention now turning to his younger brother Snitzkraft.
Both are by leading sire Snitzel out of Power O’Raylee and raced by their breeder Mick Power.
A multiple Group One-winning trainer, Wood has elected to take things a bit easier and went into partnership last month with Gesler who has been his stable foreman for a decade.
They have had plenty of problems with Vienna Power who was having his first race start at Ipswich.
“We have had a stack of problems with him. One of them is he likes to rear up in the float and put his hooves on the platform,” Wood said.
“So we had to change tactics and load him into the float backwards for the trip to Ipswich, It seems to have done the trick and there should be more wins ahead.”
Wood believes Snitzkraft is ready to avenge his first-up third as favourite when he tackles the Group Two Champagne Classic at Doomben on Saturday.
Snitzkraft finished two lengths behind the winner Saint Patricks Day in the Listed Dalrello Stakes at Eagle Farm on April 29.
“He didn’t handle the shifty Eagle Farm track first-up but was still a very good third. He worked strongly on Saturday morning and that should top him off for the Classic,” Wood said.
Snitzkraft is being aimed at the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes-J J Atkins Stakes double which Wood won with Sizzling in 2012.
