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Randwick trainer John O'Shea is hoping the forecast is correct for the next two days with fine weather and 18c through to Saturday to allow Warwick Farm's track rating to improve from the present Slow 7 at Friday morning, to a Slow 6, and possibly into the Dead range by race time, 12.30pm, on Saturday.
Photo by Racing and Sports
O'Shea cannot wait until later in the eight race ATC programme for the sun to dry out the track because he has the enigma Hendricus in the first of the day, the $85,000, Share Care Directors Benchmark 80 Handicap (1600m).
He says that the Mossman rising three-year-old gelding needs good ground. His three wins have been on either Dead 4 or Dead 5 tracks, with his last three runs on Slow 6 and 7 tracks with a fourth at Rosehill in a Benchmark 76 Handicap over 1200m on June 9th the best result.
“He will go around on Saturday as long as it is dry,” says O'Shea.
Hendricus has won the three races from 11 starts, but because of O'Shea's placement of him in Inglis Bonus races, he has won $273,450 for connections which would normally be the tally of a five to six winning metropolitan runner.
At his last start Hendricus raced in Benchmark 75 company over 1600m at Warwick Farm and after running second through to the final turn he faded under pressure to sixth.
“On form we were thinking it would be a slowly run race and we had an opportunity to roll forward, but everyone else apparently thought the same way and he ended up having to work hard to get there,” said O'Shea.
“This week he's drawn a nice gate so he can just find his feet. That is how he has been racing when he has been successful.
“He won the Inglis Mile at Warwick Farm and a few good horses finished behind him. Colorado Claire finished fourth,” he said.
Hendricus, from barrier six with 55kg, will not lack for confidence from jockey Brenton Avdulla who is coming off a late season purple patch of form with a treble at Canterbury on Wednesday.
Havana Ray is the TAB Sportsbet favourite at $3.40, while Hendricus is at $10 as at Friday morning.
A win for O'Shea would lift him into sole fourth place in the Sydney trainers' premiership which he currently shares with Warwick Farm's Guy Walter with 42 winners. Chris Waller leads the premiership with 123.5 wins with Gai Waterhouse on 98 wins and Peter Snowden on 68 wins.
O'Shea also has the promising Redoute's Choice filly Don't Blink resuming in the $85,000 The Optus Sprint (1100m), also with Avdulla, while Walter has Cahuenga in the $85,000 Nitto Benchmark 80 Handicap (1400m).
