Trainer John Moore expects Dominant to put up a bold show when he lines up for the first of his Australian tests in the G1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on Saturday, 21 March, despite the fact that the 2013 G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) victor is missing the luxury of air-conditioned stalls.
“George (Moore - trainer’s son) has reported that the horse has done very well. The only little negative is that Dominant has been suffering from a little bit of heat stress because it has been very hot in Sydney, and, unlike Hong Kong where the stables are air-conditioned, in Australia they only have fans; so he has found it a little bit difficult to acclimatise that way,” said the veteran handler, who is seeking a breakthrough G1 win in his homeland.
“Other than that, when the night comes he eats everything, there is nothing left in his feed bin,” continued Moore. “And in the morning, the early hours when he works, it is nice and cool. He has worked really, really well; he is at his winning weight at the moment; he looks great in the coat and George has said that he is going to run a very good race on Saturday.”
The Ranvet Stakes, staged over 2000m at Rosehill Racecourse in western Sydney, has attracted a field of seven. That septet includes Japanese raider Tosen Stardom, a dual G3 winner at 1800m, as well as Godolphin’s Contributer who in the recent G1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) defeated the re-opposing He’s Your Man, Silent Achiever and Lucia Valentina. The G1-placed New Zealand raider Fast Dragon completes the line-up.
Moore sees the small field as a bonus for his seven-year-old, who will have Damien Oliver in the plate.
“The track at Rosehill will be no problem,” said Moore, who has next month’s G1 Sydney Cup (3200m) or the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) in mind for his charge. “He definitely won't be 100% but he’ll go out there about 95-96% and he will run a big race. He is drawn in gate three in a small field and I know they don’t go as quick - we’re not expecting them to go as quick as they do in Hong Kong, so Dominant can lay up a little bit closer to the speed and I am sure he is going to run very well.”
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