West Australian trainers Daniel and Ben Pearce headed to Melbourne with a plan of capturing an early season Stakes race at Moonee Valley.
And after the sprinter’s first start in Melbourne earlier in the month, the brothers are confident they have Acromantula in peak condition for his tilt at the Listed Carlyon Stakes (1000m) on Saturday.
A first-up third at Moonee Valley over 1000m on August 12 has benefitted the gelding according to Ben Pearce who said that benchmark 100 contest two weeks ago was a part of the plan to have Acromantula in peak order for Saturday’s contest.
“I think he will have benefitted from it, fitness wise,” Ben Pearce told RSN.
“We left a little bit in the tank to allow for the travel and as he travelled so well, he went in a little bit underdone.
“Dan got over on Thursday and hadn’t seen him for three weeks and he phoned me straight away and said, ‘he looks good, he’s tightened up as well and his coat is coming through’.
“We’re really happy with how he’s going.”
Pearce said with Acromantula’s high rating in WA there was only four suitable races for the gelding through the year, which is the reason they began to look to the eastern seaboard.
“This is the race we came over thinking that’s it’s going to be the most suitable,” Pearce said.
“We just wanted to have that hit-out in the benchmark 100, have a look at the track and then this was the main goal of the trip.
“It looks to be lining up well for him. He’s drawn a good gate and we’re confident heading into it.”
Acromantula, who will have Craig Williams in the saddle, also has a distinct weight advantage over Sweet Ride and Omni Man who beat him home in that benchmark 100 contest a fortnight ago.
Sweet Ride rises 3kg and Omni Man is up 1.5kg on the weights they carried last time, while Acromantula drops 2kg when narrowly beaten.
While Saturday’s race is the one the brothers want to put on their CV, Acromantula is expected to stay on the eastern seaboard if he performs up to expectations on Saturday.
The Group 3 The Heath 1100 Stakes at Caulfield next week or the Group 2 McEwen Stakes (1000m) at The Valley on September 9 are options as are races in Sydney.
“There are plenty of options for him, but we’ll just take each race at a time,” Pearce said.