Garbhan and Newman out to press Group 1 claims at Canterbury
HAWKESBURY trainer Mitch Newman is confident his promising stayer Garbhan can remain on track for a tilt at the Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) when he resumes from a short let up at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Owned by Sona Bloodstock, Garbhan’s last start was back in March when he finished fourth in the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) behind Jon Snow, which went on to win the Australian Derby at his next start.
After the encouraging performance, Newman made the decision to give his stable star a short freshen up ahead of embarking on a campaign targeting a trip to Brisbane in early June.
“We’ve always had the plan in mind that the Queensland Derby would be his grand final if he were able to show us the ability we know he has,” Newman told HorseBetting.
“Stepping him into the Tulloch was essentially to see if he could handle the step up into that grade and I thought his run was very pleasing.
“We turned him out into the paddock for 10 days to ensure we’d get the timing right heading into the Derby – he’d already had five runs and it would have been too long to try and keep him up.
“The time off was just enough to give him that little break before getting back into it, to hopefully have him spot-on when we get to June 10.
“The break was good for him – he put on a nice bit of weight and has come back into work with heaps of enthusiasm – he has certainly impressed me since he has been back home.
“He still had a lot of residual fitness and he has come back to hand as good as I thought, which is great but it also meant we had a bit of extra time up our sleeve in case anything was to go wrong.”
Since returning to work, the son of Casino Prince and Skibo Castle has had one trial to prepare him for the 1550m task this week.
Newman says he is expecting a big run on Wednesday – electing to book apprentice Deanne Panya for the ride – who will claim 2kg off the 59kg top weight.
“It looks a good race for him to kick off this three-race program on the way to the Derby.
“We went for the claim to try and get a little bit of relief from the top weight – from the draw I expect him to roll forward.
“Deanne is a good front running rider and he should be up close to the lead, which I think will be his running style once he rises up in trip again.
“Canterbury may not be the best track for him – he is a big scoping horse – but as long as Deanne can stay out of trouble and get into a nice rhythm then I’m sure he’ll do the rest.
“I am hoping he will just win – although if he doesn’t I won’t be too disappointed as long as he runs well.
“I have a pretty big opinion of him so it would be nice to see him step out and get the job done to boost everyone’s confidence.”
Newman, a former jockey, has been training for six years and believes Garbhan could give him his biggest thrill yet if the bay gelding can continue to put it all together.
“This horse is still learning what its all about and has a lot of improvement – it’s exciting to have a horse like him knowing there is a lot more in the tank.
“It has been exciting to have this horse and to have brought him along and see him progress – he has given me a feel from an early point that he is above average, so it is rewarding to see him learn his trade and start doing the things we always know he can do.
“There is still a lot more talent in there – obviously he needs to keep making the step up in grade but I am sure he will and if he does then we are going to have plenty of fun with him.”
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