A timely downpour of rain overnight has removed Sterling Alexiou’s sole concern heading into General Salute’s attempt to add the Sydney season’s final black-type race to his recent Winter Stakes victory.
The gelding has secured all four of his career wins on rain-affected surfaces. With Rosehill rated a soft 5 earlier in the week, Alexiou had been worried the track might not be soft enough for General Salute.
However, after a significant soaking on Thursday night, the track was downgraded to a heavy 9 on Friday, easing Alexiou’s worries.
“Possibly back to drier ground on Saturday would have been the only negative I could see,” Alexiou stated. “A lot of his best form is on soft tracks.”
General Salute’s triumph in the Winter Stakes (1400m) marked his return to the winner’s enclosure after a 15-month absence. Despite this, he had placed in six of his seven starts during that period, including a second to Autumn Glow in last year’s Theo Marks Stakes (1300m).
Indeed, General Salute has achieved a top three finish in 12 of his 18 career runs. Should he secure another win in Saturday’s Listed Winter Challenge (1500m), his prize money earnings will approach $1 million.
“It was good to see him bounce back, and bounce back into the winner’s stall,” Alexiou commented. “He’s held his own in terms of what he’s shown us at home since that win. It’s a nice start from the 1500 so it should give Nash (Rawiller) options from a middle-draw in a big field.
“If he can get a good spot, he’ll run his usual honest race and be a good winning chance.”
A strong performance would not only be an ideal conclusion to General Salute’s profitable winter campaign but would also position him for a potential Group 1 campaign.
Having won up to 1400m, he was a runner-up to Transatlantic in his sole other start beyond that distance. If he proves strong over 1500m on Saturday, a tilt at the Epsom Handicap (1600m) will be considered.
“The idea of running him at 1500 is to give us a platform to see if he’s going to run a strong mile,” Alexiou explained. “If we think he might, he could be a lightweight Epsom chance.”
We recommend checking out the Australian betting sites for the best odds on the Winter Challenge.
