3 minute read
Trainer Rod Northam is confident he has consistent gelding High Court racing in the kind of touch that can earn him a spot in the Big Dance by winning Sunday’s $100,000 Keirle’s Pharmacy Wellington Cup (1700m).
But as convinced as the Scone trainer is about the seven-year-old's form he's wary that around the tight Wellington track High Court can't afford to concede the kind of start he did in his last start second at Eagle Farm three weeks ago.
That's despite the fact he actually hit the front at the 200m in the 1820m open handicap – but he did it after making a dash around them from last before the 600m mark.
Rodney Northam knows that top weight and favourite For Valour will look to lead from a wide gate and hopes jockey Grant Buckley can make some use of drawing just inside him.
"We'll probably ride him a little more positive, we had to go back from the wide gate with the long straight at Eagle Farm, hopefully we can possie up midfield or a little bit closer,'' Northam said.
"Ash (Morgan) said to me afterwards he got to the front too soon, he probably should have waited.
"He came off the winner's back and went around it then he came around him again and beat him.
"I was very happy with him, it was a good run. Hopefully he can reproduce something like that.
"In the Coonabarabran Cup we sat third or fourth on the fence so if we could be there that'd be good. Grant knows the horse and the track so he can figure it out."
High Court earned eligibility for the $2 million Big Dance (1600m) run at Randwick on November 7 with his second placing at Coonabarabran but that doesn't guarantee him a start, with winners of eligible races going to the top of the ballot.
So as it stands he's more likely to be in the field for the $500,000 Little Dance on the same day.
A win at Wellington will improve his position in the ballot order then it's up to the horse to maintain or increase his benchmark rating in order to make the final field.
Northam said if he was to win at Wellington, where High Court was $5.50 with TAB on Saturday, then there would be a compelling case to consider targeting the Big Dance.
"I had mentioned Darwin to the owner and he was half warming to that idea as well,'' he said.
"I thought he might be a nice horse up there at 2000m but there's a lot of water to go under the bridge yet."
In six starts since joining Northam from Jeff Englebrecht, High Court has only run one race you could describe as disappointing but that was over the far too short 1100m trip in city grade at Rosehill back in November.
"He left me with a challenge, Jeff has done a good job with him,'' Northam said.
"His benchmark was high so he's a hard horse to place but he came to me in very good order."
