Pat Carey holds strong belief in Recon’s potential, yet following the gelding’s initial appearance where he finished fifth in a Listed contest at Flemington, he hardly imagined the four-year-old would quickly become a single-figure contender in a Group 1 race.
However, an impressive follow-up victory in the Hareeba Stakes essentially forced the astute Mornington trainer to eye the $1 million The Goodwood for the unraced gelding.
This lightly-raced gelding displayed sharp progress by dominating his opponents in the 1200-metre Listed race on his home track’s premier day on April 18, which persuaded Carey that he merited a chance in South Australia’s premier sprint.
“After he won the Harbeeba, he jumped something like 17 (ratings) points, so it ruled out a lot of the last bit of progress through the grades he had,” Carey said.
“So, he’s basically obliged to run in sort of Listed-plus races now, anyway.
“We still think that there’s more to come with him at 1400 and maybe further, but he deserves his opportunity at this level, at this time of his career.”
The Hareeba Stakes marked the sixth success from 11 outings in a career that prior to this preparation had not ventured past benchmark 84 level.
Carey, entering a training alliance with Harris Walker in 2023, relishes possessing a horse so well-regarded in a key sprint feature.
He has secured Group 1 triumphs four times but none shorter than 2400m, with top winners including Cederberg from the Tancred Stakes, Oaks victors Arapaho Miss and Gondokoro, plus ATC Derby winner Ethiopia.
Since the Hareeba Stakes success, Carey appreciates Recon’s ongoing development and anticipates a solid performance at Morphettville.
“He’s been kept up to the mark, he had a nice gallop on the course proper at Mornington today and he’s continued to hold good form,” Carey said from Bendigo on Saturday.
“We’re optimistic about where his future is going to take him.”
Recon sits at $7 in the The Goodwood betting, led by $5 co-favourites Extragalactic and Flying For Fun.
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