Blinkers to come off Tango Rain
Tango Rain will have his customary blinkers fitted before the Heritage Stakes, but they won’t be there at the end of the race.
The colt’s trainer Gerald Ryan believes now is the right time to see how Tango Rain races without them and they will be removed at the barrier on Saturday.
“He will parade with the blinkers and go into the barriers with them on and then the attendant will take them off there,” Ryan said.
“”When he’s in the gates he’s fine but a couple of times he just wouldn’t go in.”
Tango Rain has had three starts, winning two and running second to Star Turn in the Group Three San Domenico Stakes.
In all three races, he was the leader.
“Racing without the blinkers should mean he can be ridden more conservatively,” Ryan said.
“I don’t want him to be one-dimensional.
“He took a sit in a trial and let down really well and he sits behind horses in his work.”
At $3.60, Tango Rain is edging Russian Revolution ($3.80) for favouritism in the Listed race for three-year-olds over 1100 metres.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Russian Revolution is a last-start Group Three winner of the Vain Stakes at Caulfield.
While many three-year-old colts are being aimed at stallion making races in Melbourne this spring, Ryan says Tango Rain might not be ready just yet.
“This is still his first preparation and there are enough nice races in Sydney for him,” he said.
“There’s the Roman Consul and the Brian Crowley. If he happened to come through those well then we might think about the Coolmore Stud Stakes.
“But we’re not in a hurry to rush him to Melbourne.”
By Manhattan Rain out of Tango Fire, Tango Rain is one of a few young horses retained by Teeley Assets after Muzaffar Yaseen had a dispersal sale of much of his stock last year.