Figures In Dale's Favour For Festival Card
- Tuesday, 29 November 2011 06:45
Encouraging statistics for stablemates Lebrechaun and Unanimously have young trainer Matthew Dale chasing his first city double on Saturday.
Stakeswinner Lebrechaun takes a strong second-up record into the Listed Festival Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill while Unanimously boasts an unblemished fresh record ahead of his return in an 1100m support race.
Dale, who prepares his team at Canberra, will also have eight-year-old Happy Finish on the float to Sydney to run in a 1300m race.
Lebrechaun resumed with a third in the Snake Gully Cup (1400m) at Gundagai and has been successful in three of his four second-up outings with one placing.
That included a victory in the Listed National Sprint (1400m) at Canberra in March.
"We took him to an unsuitable track first-up in the Snake Gully Cup but it was a suitable timeframe leading into this race with three weeks between runs and stepping up to 1500 metres," Dale said.
"He'll be better suited on the bigger track on Saturday, his second-up record is very good and we're looking like getting a bit of sting out of the track which would suit him."
Dale has booked comeback jockey Peter Robl for Lebrechaun.
Robl, who returned from a year-long ban last weekend, has ridden plenty of times for Dale when based in the Riverina as well as when he moved to Sydney.
Country jockey Mathew Cahill continues his association with the consistent Unanimously.
"He (Unanimously) is three from three first-up and he appears to have come up well," Dale said of the four-year-old gelding who has five wins and seven placings from 16 starts.
"I've been quoted before saying he's a hard horse to get a really good guide on because he doesn't do a great deal in trackwork.
"But as long as he is fit and healthy, which he is, he runs true to form.
"I'd expect him to run well on Saturday."
Lebrechaun will progress to the Group Two Villiers Stakes (1600m) at Warwick Farm on December 17 while options for Unanimously include the Listed Razor Sharp Handicap (1200m) on the same day.
Dale said he was forced to look for a city race for the veteran sprinter Happy Finish.
"You just can't find an Open class sprint in the country," he said.
