Shaune Ritchie has opposing expectations for Nereus and Davideo when the stablemates line-up together in Saturday’s Gr.3 JRA Chairman’s Quality Handicap (2000m) at Doomben.
The pair travelled from Ritchie’s Cambridge base to Queensland earlier this month and have settled in well to their temporary home at the Gold Coast Turf Club.
“They travelled over together and they are beside each other in the box at home, so I think when they’ve got their mate beside them, they just seem to do so much better,” Ritchie said.
“We took them in for a gallop on Tuesday morning on a very wet Doomben track, but there are only showers forecast for the rest of the week and a bit of fine weather, so I’d expect it to come back to a soft.
“They’ve done really well.”
A multiple Group-winner over 2100m, Nereus is much-better suited to Saturday’s distance, which will be his second foray into Australian racing after finishing sixth in the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m) last year. The son of Savabeel travels across the Tasman in strong form after finishing a powerful runner-up to Mehzebeen in the Listed Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m) at Trentham on April 12.
“This will be the first run of his campaign over there, I think he’s extremely well weighted with 55.5kg, while there is a couple of very well-credentialled horses at the top of the handicap,” Ritchie said.
“This is the sort of race that we would like to see him be extremely competitive in, I think he can run very well. He’s only had the two runs back, he ran well for third over 1400m then just failed to pick up the Hawke’s Bay Cup winner when flying home at Trentham.
“He’s certainly in a good vein of form.”
The race will kick-off a preparation in Queensland for Nereus, with a number of options across the region to suit the Waikato Stud-owned gelding.
“There are a lot of races for him over this campaign,” Ritchie said. “It won’t be hard placing him.
“We’ve got the Premier’s Cup (Gr.3, 2200m), Lord Mayor’s Cup (Gr.3, 1800m), Ipswich Cup (Listed, 2150m) and Caloundra Cup (Listed, 2400m), there’s pretty much a race for him every week.”
Meanwhile, English import Davideo will have his second run in the care of Ritchie and training partner Colm Murray, as he continues to build towards the Gr.2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) later in the carnival.
“Honestly, I hope he beats the ambulance home,” Ritchie said. “He’s a big, one-paced, long-striding horse and his goal is absolutely the Brisbane Cup.
“He’s working like a true English stayer, so I’m not expecting him to be very competitive on the weekend, I think Doomben is a track that won’t suit and 2000m will be too short. We’ve over-trained him with the knowledge that we’re aiming for a two-mile race in a month’s time, so we’ll expect a bit more when he hits a mile and a half, then be peaking for the Brisbane Cup.”
Ritchie oversaw the early stages of their preparation in Australia but will watch Saturday’s contest from afar as he attends the time-honoured Preakness Stakes in Maryland over the weekend.
“I took them over there last week, but I’m on the way to the airport and going with my brother and parents for the second two legs of the Triple Crown in America,” he said. “The Preakness is on Saturday, then we’ll stay on for the Belmont Stakes.
“It’ll be a good experience to watch the American side of racing, as well as spending time with family. As we know in racing at the moment, family is extremely fragile, so we’ll be making the most of our time together.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
