Broadside could give McKell a wide berth
Broadside looks capable of doing the hard yards over winter, but asking him to race over consecutive weekends for the first time in his career is probably a stretch.
Co-trainer Adrian Bott conceded as much and indicated it was unlikely the five-year-old would back up from Saturday’s 2000m-win at Rosehill.
Broadside is nominated for the Listed McKell Cup (2400m) but Bott and co-trainer Gai Waterhouse may delay his black-type debut.
“He’s a nice progressive horse. It’s just whether we want to take that step just yet, it is a quick back-up for him,” Bott said.
“There’s no commitment to starting him, but the horse has come through the run in good order,” Bott said.
“There is a temptation to run but we’re in no rush with him.”
He had no doubt Broadside could step up in trip after shorter distances proved too sharp.
“He’s not a horse with the best turn of foot,” Bott said.
“He’s a tough grinder. We saw that on Saturday in a genuinely run race. He was very strong through the line in a test that certainly found a few of them out.”
The McKell Cup field is confirmed on Wednesday and although Broadside could have the weekend off, stablemate Multitude will be challenged to step up in grade after a last-start success in a benchmark 72 (2200m) at Warwick Farm.
“He’s probably been thrown in the deep end a little bit here but the horse is thriving. He’s well and truly at his peak now,” Bott said.
“It’s a bit of a jump for him from midweek grade but he’s at a point in his preparation where it’s ideal for him to have a crack at a race like this.”
As Multitude goes up in grade, stablemate Supply And Demand will drop back to a benchmark 85 from the Listed Scone Cup.
Supply And Demand was far from disgraced when fifth behind Duca Valentinois in the Scone Cup on May 12 but Bott was happy to see him step back.
“There was a fair bit of pressure on in that race and he was probably found out a little bit in that class,” he said.
“The drop back in grade will be the key. The trip’s ideal for him.”