Trainer Mark Gatt believes the time is right for his promising dog Stanley Road to step up to the staying ranks in Friday’s heats of the Newcastle Cup at LADBROKES GARDENS.
Two heats of the staying feature have ben drawn on Friday with the $25,000 to the winner final to be run on December 11.
Defending Cup champion Just Terms has drawn the opening heat and looks the standout, but the second heat is loaded with talent, with Sydney Cup winner Here’s Tears in the one, promising stayer Cawborne Footrot in two, Zipping Truvy another who has been strong in middle distance races around the provincials of late, in box four, last start Wentworth Park 720m winner By Five Helen in box five, veteran Split Sound in box eight, and Stanley Road in the seven. The first four will advance to the final.
“It’s his first go there at Newcastle, he’s never even seen the track, I’ve put him in sight unseen,” Gatt said. “I don’t usually worry about it as much with stayers having a look at the track.
“His last start win at Richmond was good, and he looks like he is ready for 700m, so we will give him a go and see how he goes. You never know how they will handle it (the step up in distance) until you put them over it.
“It’s been the aim to get him up to 700 and we’re here now, and in some ways the trip of Newcastle Cup is probably an easier sort of 700m. And I’d rather him go with the better sort of dogs anyway. I reckon he goes better with the better dogs cruising at a better speed.
“So I thought, why not give him a shot against the big boys.”
While his heat is clearly the tougher of the two, with just six runners in each qualifier, Gatt says if Stanley Road can’t get through, he wouldn’t deserve to be in the final.
“I just saw the fields and one heat is definitely a lot hotter than the other,” Gatt said. “But if you can’t run first four in your heat, you’re not going to be winning the final and you really don’t deserve to be in the final.”
Defending champion Just Terms who defeated Blue Moon Rising to claim the Newcastle Cup 12 months ago, is returning from a Melbourne campaign where she finished third in the Topgun Stayers behind Tornado Tears and Here’s Tears.
Trainer Andy Lord is very happy with the way she is going, and expects a big showing not only this week, but the following week in the final.
Lord also has Cawborne Footrot in the heats, and he too has returned from Victoria.
“I’m looking for him to pick up a bit this week,” Lord said. “Since day one he refuses to eat after a run unless he gets his cocked chicken then cooked leg of lamb, then he is back on his food.
“When he went down to Anthony (Azzopardi in Victoria), he started eating, then just stopped and wouldn’t eat at all. We were going to leave him down for the Sale Cup but it wasn’t going to work, so we brought him back and he’s coming good now.”
