Tulloch Lodge trainer Adrian Bott is confident Wolfe is on the verge of living up to his early promise after a stop-start year in which he was restricted to just four starts.
The Japanese-bred stayer won five of his first six runs and finished third to Surprise Baby in the 2019 The Bart Cummings at Flemington.
A start later he won the Group Three Coongy Handicap to earn a spot in that year’s Caulfield Cup where he wasn’t disgraced, finishing just over five lengths from the winner, Mer De Glace.
But his opportunities since then have been limited, his autumn derailed by wet tracks and his spring campaign over after one start.
Bott and co-trainer Gai Waterhouse have Wolfe back up and running this summer and the six-year-old indicated he was close to another win with a last-start second to Spirit Ridge in the January Cup.
With the horse’s preferred firm conditions guaranteed at Warwick Farm for Tuesday’s Listed Australia Day Cup (2400m), Bott believes Wolfe has his hoof on the till.
“He ran really well last start. He is just starting to recapture that form he showed 12 months ago,” Bott said.
“He is a talented horse on his day so he is capable of winning a race like that and the extra trip should be ideal.”
Tulloch Lodge will be shooting for back-to-back wins in the Australia Day Cup after capturing the race 12 months ago with Taikomochi.
Wolfe was a $3.60 favourite (TAB) on Monday ahead of the Mark Newnham-trained Skymax ($4.80) with Grey Lion and Elaborate next best at $7 apiece.
Racing officials have put back all races on the public holiday program due to a forecast for extreme heat with the feature to be run at 6.10pm (AEDT).
