Domingo ready to sing at rain-smashed Gosford track

He’s beautifully bred to handle anything the heavens throw at him, and Thursday’s feature Gosford meeting looms as a real “stepping stone” into metropolitan company for Domingo.

Lightly raced Domingo is set to strike third-up in a Maiden Plate over 1900m, with blinkers on for the first time in this first full prep, convincing Randwick trainer John O’Shea and connections that much bigger targets await in the city.

On a rain-smashed track that will likely settle well into heavy range, “map” patterns will be telling, and that could all be music to the ears for this emerging three-year-old stay by dual Group 1 winner Contributor and quirkily out of the Zabeel mare Falsetto who did most of her racing in NZ and realised rain-affected ground.

Of course, a falsetto is an opera singer capable of producing extraordinarily high-pitch notes, and there were very few greater than multi award-winning Spanish tenor Placido Domingo. Domingo resumed with only a moderate midfield run at this track a month back before putting the writing on the wall at Newcastle two weeks ago when he surged home from near last on a Heavy 9 to be beaten under a length.

Now stepping up a further 300m from the mile in similar conditions, carrying 1kg less with top metro jockey Brenton Avdulla taking over, Domingo looks ready to hit a winning note.

The conditions also make the right noise for a progressive Warwick Farm filly second-up in only her second prep.

Diamond City, a tough-as-teak daughter of dual Group 1 winner Ilovethiscity, went close in heavy ground first-up for five months at Canberra in weaker grade.

On a bottomless Heavy 10, she had to cart 58kg that day, and while taking on a deeper field here, a much improved fitness level and key drop in weight augur well.