Trainer Brian Mcgrath is keeping an eye on the upcoming rich sprint races in Adelaide with his improving sprinter D’Jumbuck.
But first there is a rich pay day at Sandown on Saturday for D’Jumbuck who runs in the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Sprint (1200m).
D’Jumbuck has risen to a new level this campaign and provided McGrath with his first Saturday metropolitan win when successful at Flemington on January 14 before following up with another win at that track five weeks later.
Those two victories led to D’Jumbuck running for the first time in Stakes company, finishing fourth to Kallos in the Listed Bob Hoysted Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on March 25, his most recent start.
“The 1000 metres was probably a little bit sharp for him but he didn’t disgrace himself. I thought he ran really well,” McGrath said.
“He ran home (the last 600m) in 32.8 seconds, and I don’t think he could go any faster.
“The 1000 metres, I think, is a specialist sort of distance and over 1200, the tempo is a little bit different, and he can quicken off that.
“It’s different sort of racing.”
McGrath sees the step up in trip to 1200m on Saturday being ideal and D’Jumbuck does have three wins, including one on the Lakeside course, to his credit at Sandown.
But McGrath said D’Jumbuck was an improved horse from those Sandown victories which came at midweek meetings while he would like drying ground for the sprinter.
“He has won on the soft, but the drier the better,” McGrath said.
“He had a gallop at Sandown on Tuesday and we were rapt with how he went. It was good to get him away from Cranbourne and get him thinking again.”
Further down the track, McGrath said he was keeping an eye on the Group 1 The Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on May 20, although a more realistic race is the Listed Straight Six (1200m) at Flemington on May 13.
“It’s back down the straight over 1200 metres at Flemington, so I thought that might be the option for him,” McGrath said.
“It’s four weeks after Saturday and that suits him.”