Racehorse TALK

Wouldn't be a big surprise to see Mind Your Head go Back to Back 

By Mark Ryan
Melbourne
Monday 21 December 2009, 4:19pm
Having established Gold In Dubai can't run 1600 metres, trainer Mark Riley has prepared him for a first-up crack at Saturday's Christmas Stakes at Caulfield.

Riley said he had thought the Desert Sun gelding would run a mile or further and tried him for a second time at the trip in the Group One Australian Guineas at Flemington in March, but he weakened to finish 10th behind the winner Heart Of Dreams.

As a two-year-old Gold In Dubai had dropped out to run last in the Gibson Carmichael Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.

"He was still immature as a three-year-old and after finding out in the Guineas that he just can't run a mile we brought him back to sprinting and then gave him a good spell," said the Mornington trainer.

"He's matured and is going lovely. He's had a couple of trials over 1000 metres at Balnarring and went quite well."

The four-year-old's two wins from 14 starts were both over the 1200 metres of the Christmas Stakes at Caulfield in the 2008 Listed Blue Sapphire Stakes and two starts back when he defeated Swift Bay in a three-year-old event on May 23.

The four-year-old's most recent start was when he was runner-up under 58kg to Glam Slam in the Listed A R Creswick Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on June 6, going down by a neck.

Riley said Mark Pegus, who has ridden Gold In Dubai at his past two starts, would pilot the sprinter in the Listed feature on Saturday, a race the jockey won last year aboard the John Ledger-trained Mind Your Head.

Ledger has both Mind Your Head and Day Out nominated for the race which attracted 25 entries.

The two seven-year-olds ran seventh and fifth respectively behind Beltrois over 1200m at Flemington on December 12.

Among the other entries for the Christmas Stakes are the Mark Kavanagh-trained Here De Angels, who with a handicapping rating of 107 will be topweight ahead of Time Matters (103) and Diplomatic Force, Jeuneyman, Royal Ida and Tramuntana (all 101).

The David Jolly-trained Tramuntana and 2008 Darwin Cup and Murray Bridge Cup winner Club Liquid, prepared by Dick Leech, are also nominated for Saturday's Listed Christmas Hcp (1400m) to be run on the Morphettville Parks track.

Trainer Rod Douglas said Queensland Derby placegetter Larry's Never Late would probably miss the Christmas Stakes to be reserved for the Williamstown Hcp (1400m) at Flemington on January 1.

"I only put him in case it rained but he's more than likely going to Flemington on New Year's Day for a 1400 metre race," Douglas said.

"The idea was to give him a 1200 or a 1400 metre race, a 1600 and a 2000 metre race before taking him over to Tasmania for the Hobart Cup."

The Group Three $400,000 Hobart Cup (2200m) is run on February 8.