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Jockey Tim Clark says promising colt Straight Charge couldn’t have done any more on the trial track in the lead up to his return at Randwick on Saturday and now it’s up to the youngster to show it under race conditions.
The Breeders' Plate runner-up stifles betting for the Drinkwise Plate, he was $1.50 with TAB on Thursday, and as excited as Tim Clark is about partnering the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott horse he offered a small cautionary tale about barrier trials.
It stems from just last weekend where he partnered Amazing Eagle, who also started odds-on on the back of a big trial win but found one better after things went awry early in the race.
"He's run fast time both times but I was in the same position this time last week going to the races with a highly touted two-year-old off a very good trial,'' Clark said.
"I really like him but I want to see him go out there and reproduce it on race day under that pressure.
"His two trials have been fantastic this time in but they were only short course trials (740m) so he still needs to go out there and perform to a high standard before we get too carried away."
Straight Charge was narrowly outpointed by stablemate Espionage in the Breeders' Plate and to Clark's eye he's strengthened up with the break of a couple of months.
Clark expects the son of Written By to make light work of his outside barrier and based on what he saw on debut can also expect him to put in as he presses his Magic Millions claims.
"He's a very fast horse, he covers the ground really well,'' he said.
"Even though he's going at a fast speed he's doing it pretty effortlessly, he's not expending any energy he doesn't have to.
"He couldn't have done any more than what he has, in his run in the Breeders Plate he didn't stop trying. He showed good traits in his first race start and you'd think with that experience he'd only continue to improve."
Imported stayer I'm A Dirty Rascal has to shoulder a big weight in the Kia Ora Prague Handicap (2400m) and Clark said if he handles it then he's in the right race to notch his first Australian win.
The six-year-old has raced twice for the Waterhouse/Bott stable and impressed the jockey both times including his close fourth behind Stockman in the Christmas Cup (2400m) three weeks ago.
"His run was great the other day. He's probably not the typical Gai & Adrian style of horse, he likes to get into a bit of a rhythm,'' he said.
"From where he drew the other day we had to give away a bit of ground but I liked the way he attacked the line. He'll appreciate the sting out of the track.
"It's a good race for him, he's just got to shoulder the weight and if he can do that he's going to be very hard to beat."
He rises 9.5kg for the class drop but draws an alley Clark says he'll be able to make some use of.
"He actually began really well and he would have been a lot closer than he was so from that draw he's going to be in the first three or four pretty comfortably,'' he said.
"He's a bit one paced and needs to be wound up and put into the race somewhere between the half mile and the 600m."
