By Ray Hickson
If lightly raced four-year-old Kelvedon Road is a genuine contender for the $2 million The Kosciuszko then trainer Todd Smart knows he has to perform at Canterbury on Wednesday.
There’s nothing more timely than a prospective runner in the world’s richest race for country-trained horses posting a win in close proximity to the ticket draw and that’s what Smart is aiming for in the Vinery Stallions Handicap (1250m).
Canterbury will host an eight-race meeting on Wednesday.Credit:Getty
Ticket sales close at 11.59pm on Wednesday ahead of the slot winners’ draw on Friday.
“He’s had his little quirks, we’ve needed to give him a bit of time and he’s only going to get better,″ Smart said.
“But he’s got to come out and win and show everyone how he’s going. He’s a horse that handles a good and a heavy track and I guess that’s what you’ve got to be looking at. This horse gets back in his races and in a hot 1200m race he’ll get back and be running on.
“I think you need a 1400m horse to run a strong 1200m at Randwick anyway. That’s what I think we’ve got with him. I think his best distance is going to be 1400m and probably get out to 1600m.”
The gelding took his record to four wins from 11 starts when he scored first-up over 1200m on a heavy track at Canberra on August 19 and will be sporting blinkers for the first time at Canterbury.
Smart is confident the blinkers will assist in encouraging Kelvedon Road to jump with the field and says on the evidence of trackwork they are going to be an asset in general.
And while he says Canterbury is probably not a suitable track the small field will likely negate that concern.
“He worked in the blinkers on Saturday and was very sharp and strong through the line,” he said. “It’s helped him and it’s another string to his bow, I think he is going to go well with them on.
“He can be slow out, hopefully he jumps a bit better but he will muster speed and won’t be too far off them coming around the turn.”
Should Kelvedon Road secure a place in The Kosciuszko, Smart said he will likely trial the horse in the lead-up to the October 15 feature.
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