It’s rare these days to see a horse with twelve outings in a single campaign, yet trainer Michael Morrison remains optimistic that his tough mare Down Under Stunnah can produce a strong showing in her concluding appearance this preparation at Ipswich.
Morrison has shifted his training base from Beaudesert to Ipswich lately, and he’s keen for the five-year-old to claim the inaugural success for his relocated yard while extending her winning form from the January event at the venue in the Living Turf Benchmark 60 Handicap (2180m) this Thursday drawing gate two.
“This is her last run for the prep but I think she is well and truly still in good enough order to be going close again,” Morrison said.
The mare battled gamely to claim runner-up status by the barest of margins at Ipswich over 2010m on March 6 before registering a fourth over 2030m at Doomben in April.
“She probably for a little bit further back that what is preferable,” he said of the metro midweek outing.
“They didn’t go overly quickly so if made things a little bit difficult, but it was a strong midweek race and I think the top four gapped the rest and she was taking a bit of ground off them late.
“We’re back out again in trip and the good thing about a good gate is that she can land in the good spot without having to do any work early and I think with her, she begins well enough but you also don’t want to have her under pressure early.
“The good gate will allow her to land in a good spot without using any petrol where two starts ago at Ipswich, she had to be used a bit to find a spot and I think that probably made the difference late.
Down Under Stunnah, out of Under The Louvre, stands as the top achiever from her dam Stryking Stunnah, boasting two victories and two minor placings across her 13 career outings to date.
The young South African jockey Brandon Lerena, who has settled in Queensland, has been aboard for eight of her ten most recent engagements.
“He’s a strong rider and has great hands in terms of being able to get horses to relax,” Morrison said.
“I think that is very important wherever they are settling to be in that rhythm and give late.
“He’s the perfect rider and probably still underutilised up here and that works in our favour because we usually get first call on him.”
Morrison and Lerena have notched three triumphs and four placings from 17 mounts in Lerena’s most recent 100 rides.
Explore the betting markets for the race at Australian betting sites to find the best value on Down Under Stunnah in the Living Turf Benchmark 60 Handicap.