Star Fortune aiming for third-straight win
Star Fortune is unbeaten so far this campaign and will be out to continue the trend when he chases a first metropolitan win at Sandown.
And his trainer Clinton McDonald is confident it can happen on Monday.
“He’s going well enough to do that and I couldn’t be any happier with him,” McDonald said.
Four-year-old Star Fortune has won his two starts this preparation at Pakenham and Adelaide and heads to Sandown for the Grand Hotel Frankston Handicap (1400m).
The gelding has 60.5kg but apprentice Tom Sadler will offset that with his 2kg claim.
“He’s won five from nine starts now so he’s building up a good record,” McDonald said.
“He got home from Adelaide safe and sound and he’s in good order, so he’ll run well.”
Three of Star Fortune’s wins have come on provincial tracks in Victoria while McDonald has sent him across the border twice to South Australia where he has two wins on the Morphettville Parks track.
The latest was last Saturday week when McDonald opted for a benchmark-75 over 1400m rather than run him over 1300m at the feature Bendigo meeting in Victoria.
“He went to Adelaide in a race with five runners. It was just the right race for him,” he said.
McDonald said the son of Starcraft had taken a bit of time and was still mentally immature but was starting to put it together.
The main attraction at the Easter Monday meeting will be Australian Cup runner-up Awesome Rock who is scheduled to have a gallop before the first race at Sandown.
The Leon and Troy Corstens-trained Awesome Rock was scratched from Saturday’s Group Three Easter Cup at Caulfield because of a wide barrier.
His trainers did not want him to have too hard a run before taking him to Sydney for a tilt at the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.