Trainer Greg Eurell is aiming for a second consecutive Flemington victory with his gelding Obvious this Saturday, a feat that seemed improbable just two months prior.
The son of Toronado is slated to compete in the 1600-metre Silver Bowl Final for three-year-olds.
Obvious emerged as a strong contender for the Silver Bowl following his win in a heat on June 20, which was preceded by a second-place finish at Caulfield on May 30. These performances were a welcome sight for Eurell, considering his gelding’s previous outings.
Obvious finished last at Sandown on April 6 and again at Mornington twelve days later. Eurell credits a spell at Monomeith Stud, utilising their water walker, for his recent resurgence.
“It was hard to work it out, he led into those runs in his usual manner and then he just failed to fire a shot,” Eurell said.
“So we thought we’d give him a freshen up and send him down to Monomeith on the water walker.”
“Then we just brought him back in and we’re doing a bit with him, gave him a jumpout, the jumpout was good, so we thought, ‘oh well, we’ll go again.”
Obvious’s narrow defeat by three-quarters of a length at Caulfield was to Clevor Trever, who is considered a primary rival this week. Several other Silver Bowl contenders were also defeated in their most recent starts.
Although Obvious carried a light 52.5kg to victory at Flemington with the benefit of Luke Cartwright’s claim, he will now shoulder 57.5kg in this Saturday’s non-claiming race. Eurell has opted to retain the services of the winning rider.
“He gets a bit of a penalty weight-wise after the win, but I think he’s in great shape and the beauty of him is he can handle any surface.”
Obvious has drawn barrier seven in the thirteen-horse Silver Bowl Final and is currently sharing the second line of betting with Lucky Lucky Boom, trailing behind Clevor Trever.
For those looking to get involved, exploring the latest betting markets for the race could offer some exciting opportunities.
Check out Australian betting sites for the best odds.
