By Ray Hickson
A throw at the stumps that almost got him into the Provincial-Midway Championships Final told Kerry Parker that lightly raced gelding Flying Bandit has returned in good order and has him heading to Hawkesbury on Wednesday to learn more.
The four-year-old is a horse Parker has plenty of time for, but he says he hasn’t uncovered what his pet distance will be.
Kembla Grange trainer Kerry Parker.Credit: Getty Images
After a slashing third over 1400m when resuming at Kembla Grange last month, Flying Bandit steps up in distance in the St John’s Park Bowling Club Handicap (1800m).
“The goal is to work out what his distance will be to give us something to aim for in the spring,” Parker said.
“I’m not sure exactly where he fits in. We’ve got to work on that benchmark and work on him.
“I’m not sure if he’s going to be a mile-2000m (horse) off a good tempo or if he’s going to be a genuine stayer.”
Flying Bandit has won four of his nine starts and showed a glimpse of his potential by winning over 2000m at Hawkesbury and over 1800m in a Midway at Randwick in the spring.
Parker said he was prepared to keep the gelding at 1400m if he happened to qualify for the Provincial-Midway Championships Final, but his close third told him there’s a good chance he’s gone up a notch.
“It was always a starting point for him, it was a perfect race for him to start his prep in,” he said.
“If he qualified then he qualified. You get a $150,000 race on your doorstep, and he got into it well at the weights. If he did qualify then three weeks into the final was perfect.”
Jay Ford, who rode Flying Bandit to his Randwick win, is on board at Hawkesbury and Parker said he can only hope the race is run genuinely as an inside gate doesn’t suit.
“He’s raced well at Hawkesbury, he’s won there over the 2000m,” he said.
“All in all he’s heading down the right line. You need that luck with him because he always gets back in his races, barrier two I don’t know if it’s ideal, he’s not blessed with a lot of gate speed.”
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