Alderson sets her sight on metro return for Geodude
THE trainer of promising three-year-old Geodude, Cindy Alderson, is hoping Thursday’s meeting at Sale will be the last time she has to take gelding outside of the metropolitan area.
The Cranbourne-based trainer took the horse to Bendigo following a promising trial win at its home track and it did not let her down, winning on debut under Brad Rawiller.
In a race that gave the gelding every excuse to quit it found the line strongly after leading into the straight and being challenged from either side as the post loomed.
Geodude (Murtajill-Senorita de Lago) – another National Racehorse Sale buy wins @BendigoJC on debut for Cindy @AldersonRacing! Congrats!
— Magic Millions (@mmsnippets) July 7, 2017
It was a win that displayed class and grit, but Alderson is not reading too much into the win.
“It was definitely a good win, but he was in a fairly weak maiden,” Alderson told HorseBetting.com.au.
The trainer is hopeful the winning combination of Geodude and Rawiller can continue on Thursday.
“He fought on strongly, and Brad takes the ride again at Sale so we are looking forward to it.”
Geodude is the +240 favourite at Crownbet.com.au to take out the Gippsland Funeral Services Class One at Sale.
After winning its maiden two-weeks ago, the gelding received a 1.5kg penalty, and will now carry 60kg into the class one race.
A rise in weight and class would prove daunting to any trainer, but Alderson is optimistic that the galloper can handle the occasion.
“He is carrying top weight into this one, which was a bit of a concern given he’s stepping up in class but I don’t see why it will be too much of a problem for him,” the trainer said.
One of the reasons behind the confidence is barrier three, which presents the perfect opportunity for Geodude to get a quality cart into the race before powering to the line.
“Gate three is great for him, he should be able to get the run he wants and we’ll see what he does from there.
“We reckon we’ve got a city-grade horse on our hands, so we think he should be able to handle what’s in front of him at Sale.”
Hearing that Geodude is a city prospect is sure to pike the interest of punters that follow the Alderson operation, given the team knows what it takes to prepare city winners.
Alderson prepared Smart Dart for its Sandwich Chef Handicap victory at Moonee Valley back in January, and she believes a similar city pathway could be forged for Geodude.
The trainer is not looking beyond Thursday at this stage however, even after admitting she has a city-type on her hands.
“If he wins Thursday we are not exactly sure what we are going to do with him race wise, but we will definitely be looking to the city.
“We are kind of just taking everything as it comes with this guy, he’s shown us a bit to suggest his a city horse but we’ll let it play out and we’ll see how it goes.”
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