Trainer Nick Ryan is contemplating a journey to Queensland for Highvol following the gelding’s successful comeback to the winners’ list at Caulfield.
Highvol had gone without a victory since his initial pair of successes as a two-year-old prior to claiming the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap (1600m) during Saturday’s meeting.
With Jamie Mott aboard and dictating the pace from the front, Highvol ($16) edged ahead right on the wire to prevail by the narrowest of margins over Tarntanya ($18), while Himalayan ($5.50) filled the third position.
Highvol took out the Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) at Flemington during his juvenile season, and Ryan had earmarked a Brisbane winter series for the gelding.
Regrettably, Highvol became unwell, which prevented the northern excursion, leading Ryan to focus efforts on a spring preparation instead.
Following a strong-finishing fourth in the Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley, Ryan targeted the Victoria Derby with the three-year-old contender.
“He had a frustrating spring,” Ryan said.
“He ran super in the Stutt second-up, flying home, against these types of horses.
“He then almost won a Geelong Classic, and we pushed on to the Derby, but it flattened him a lot and I was very mindful of that and hence we didn’t rush him back for the autumn.
“I went and looked at him and said to the owners to give him some more time because he was quite tired after the Derby.
“He was second-up today. They went very slow last time, and he’s no good off a slow tempo, and when they sprinted, they left him flat-footed.”
After his recent first-up effort at Sandown last month, Ryan noted he had intensified the training on Highvol to ensure peak condition for the demanding 1600m distance.
“I said to Motty that I had screwed him down between runs and he’s at his best free rolling off a fast tempo and that’s what that was,” Ryan said.
“It was a bit of a dogfight late and he’s good in the soft, so there was a lot of positives.
“He’s a handy horse and he won his first two and we had plans to go to Queensland, but he got crook.
“He ticks the wet-track box, and he makes his own luck, so a trip to Queensland, anything is possible.”
Betting enthusiasts can explore the Australian betting sites for the latest odds on the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap.
