The wait is almost over for Grahame Begg as Nonconformist commences his Caulfield Cup campaign in the Memsie Stakes.
Saturday’s 1400m Group 1 race at Caulfield will be the first time Nonconformist has been to the races since finishing second to Incentivise in last year’s Caulfield Cup.
Spelled straight after that contest with a view to campaigning in Sydney and Brisbane during late autumn and winter, Begg instead kept Nonconformist in Melbourne to prepare for the spring.
Begg did not see any point in campaigning Nonconformist on rain-sodden tracks and adopted some different measures in preparing the gelding for the spring.
He sent Nonconformist to an equestrian stable where the gelding undertook a dressage class which Begg hopes may give the now six-year-old an edge.
“The dressage is good for them,” Begg said.
“It gets them to change their lead leg, gets them more balanced. It’s something a bit different.”
Nonconformist started pre-training in May and has been back at Begg’s stable since early June.
He has had a couple of jump-outs at Cranbourne along with an official trial, defeating stablemate Lunar Flare over 1190m.
“He may be a little ring rusty but he’s in good form, and he’s shown at home that he hasn’t lost anything,” Begg said.
“Getting back to the races, 1400 metres at weight-for-age, it might be a bit sharp for him, but he’ll gradually creep up in distance and his form will gradually improve as he goes through his prep.
“We’ve been patient with him. He’s a six-year-old that has had 19 starts. He’s been lightly raced so he’s got to start growing up.”
Saturday’s contest is the toughest first-up assignment Nonconformist has undertaken, although he has been placed three times from four first-up appearances.
And Begg said Nonconformist was an unlucky sixth in the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes over Saturday’s course and distance when resuming last year.
“We’ll just ride him in his comfort zone and as long as he’s hitting the line, we’ll be happy,” Begg said.