Flemington Races, Melbourne Races, Racing News, Toorak Handicap
Spacecraft Targets The Toorak Handicap
Spacecraft Targets The Toorak Handicap
The 2010 Toorak Handicap Race Odds: Sportsbet | IASbet | Centrebet
With his eyes set on the 1600-metre, Group 1 Toorak Handicap, trainer Mick Price is upbeat about Spacecraft’s chances at the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap at the Flemington racecourse. Formerly trained by Danny O’ Brien, Spacecraft will make his debut under trainer Mick Price. With jockey Craig Newitt on board, Spacecraft had an impressive jumpout during the week.
While champion jockey Damien Oliver does most of the work with Spacecraft, Newitt has seen the son of Galileo’s improvement during the past weeks and he only partnered with him last Tuesday in an 800-metre jumpout against Australian Horse of the Year candidate Typhoon Tracy. Newitt said that he could not ask a better run from Spacecraft during the jumpout.
Newitt added that he went to the line equally as good as Typhoon Tracy and his performance is impressive for a horse that runs for 1600 metres or longer. However, Newitt and Spacecraft’s team want to see if he is sharp enough to run six furlongs on Saturday. Though he has raced only seven time, Newitt believes that Spacecraft will put on a show.
Spacecraft has won at Caulfield and Moonee Valley but he competed last spring to gain a distant second to Hanks at the 2040-meter, Group 2 AAMI Vase at Mooney Valley. After a third place finish to Denman and Carrara at the 1200-metre Listed Zeditave Stakes, he trained off the autumn.
So far, his only public appearance for Price came last month when he ran a strong second at a 1000-metre barrier trial at the Geelong racecourse. The said trial was won by Bay of Poets. However, the Toorak Handicap hopeful won his maiden at Sale by four lengths. As of present, Newitt still has no idea why Spacecraft had an uneasy autumn campaign for he does not show any race problems.
A win on the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap would inch Spacecraft closer to compete at the Group One Toorak Handicap and potentially at bigger races such as the Caulfield Cup, the Melbourne Cup and the Cox Plate. Coming from the spring, he had a race rating of 85. Due to Spacecraft’s weight of 53 kilograms coming into the Group 3 race, Oliver searched for a runner in his weight range.
Oliver would take his chances at the Peter Moody-trained Group One winner Headway which comes in at 55.5 kilograms. However, Moody said that his horse will not compete if the track conditions are heavy. Last Thursday, Flemington had a heavy rating of eight.
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