Stubbs can bounce back with Bianco Vilano after Rumours Abound flop

Still dusting off the disappointment of an underwhelming debut from new stable hope Rumours Abound, Albury trainer Ron Stubbs is set to bounce back hard at Tuesday’s feature home meeting.

Rumours Abound, a highly-touted three-year-old daughter of Group 1 winner Press Statement, went off a $3.60 favourite at Wagga last week, but weakened over the final furlong after doing plenty of work from a wider gate.

Although vets found nothing wrong with the horse, that put the brakes on one of the best runs in Stubbs’ training career – having landed five winners from his last 13 runners in 2022.

But he’s out to resume normal service with tough four-year-old Bianco Vilano third-up in a modest Class 1 Hcp for the boys over 1175m.

Strangely, while Bianco Vilano has always performed well enough at home, he is yet to win in front of local fans, placed three times from six outings.

And he wasn’t at his best on soft ground in a Class 1 at Canberra 12 days ago, labouring home into third place.

But back to his pet distance on a hot day when the track rating could reach a Good 3, Stubbs has made key gear changes, most notably blinkers replacing winkers.

From the inside draw Bianco Vilano looks ready to win again, albeit in the face of a likely challenge from Victorian top weight Gulf Of Aden, also third-up and crossing the border to Albury for the first time.

Certainly, Victorian stables look set for a big day.