Trainer Patrick Payne has been left deflated with the performances of Double You Tee this campaign and has resorted to a change in training in a bid to turn the gelding’s form around.
And Payne is expecting Double You Tee to run an improved race when he contests the Schweppervescence Handicap (2600m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Victorious in the Group 3 Hobart Cup (2400m) earlier this year, Payne was hoping Double You Tee could be a contender in some of the lesser stakes’ races during the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
But Double You Tee failed to live up to Payne’s expectations during the spring, and in six start filled place only once, finishing third at The Valley in a 2040m handicap against five opponents in October.
Following that performance, Double You Tee ran ninth in the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m) on November 20 before finishing fifth, when in the market, in the Werribee Cup (2000m) on December 5.
That performance resulted in a change of training regime for Double You Tee in a bid to spark a rekindled interest in racing.
“He’s taken a long time to get fit, but his last start was very ordinary,” Payne told RSN.
“But he wasn’t himself in the mounting yard, he got hot and sweaty and wasn’t himself, so we’ve changed his work around a lot.
“We’ve jumped him a bit and sometimes that distracts them a bit and makes them concentrate on something else.
“It seems to work and if it works, that’s great. He’s sound and I’m expecting a total form reversal, but whether that happens or not, I don’t know.
“He’ll be huge odds and is a chance in trifectas.”
While Payne has sent Double You Tee over the jumps in a bid to change his form around, don’t expect to see the gelding as a jumping force next year.
“He doesn’t jump well, but it’s still a good training aid,” Payne said.