The Morphettville outfit of Gordon Richards and Damien Moyle have prepared a contingency should the forecasted downpour hit over the weekend.
The duo has Tapinforpar entered in The Dominant Advantage Handicap (1400m) at Morphettville Parks this Saturday, yet Richards is wary of the impending weather conditions.
Should the anticipated rain materialise, Richards indicated Tapinforpar would probably be held over for the Murray Bridge fixture in a fortnight.
For now, preparations centre on the upcoming Saturday event, with Richards noting Tapinforpar is in fine fettle for the 1400m assignment.
“This prep has been really good,” Richards said.
“He won first-up over 1200 (metres) at Gawler and then I thought he was caught in the wrong part of track second up and it could have been a bit of the ‘old’ second-up syndrome as well, but he didn’t get beaten very far.
He ran well the other day, but being a big horse, he had trouble negotiating through the field and then he dived late.”
Richards acknowledged Tapinforpar might thrive more on the spacious Morphettville circuit compared to Parks, though he favours the 1400m distance.
“We’ve got him out over a mile a couple of times and he tends to over-race early and then doesn’t have the finish,” Richards said.
“The only place they have 1400-metre races is at Murray Bridge or the inner track here at Morphettville.
Murray Bridge is alright, he has raced well up there before, and our intentions were if he didn’t draw a barrier this week, we would go to the Bridge next week.
He’s drawn a good barrier, but having said that, I don’t know what’s going to happen with the rain.
It might throw everyone’s plans into confusion.”
According to Richards himself, Tapinforpar endured a substandard previous preparation attributed to soggy conditions.
However, in this preparation, Tapinforpar has returned to his reliable form, requiring just one more victory to surpass the $300,000 earnings threshold.
Richards has retained Connor Murtagh, who partnered the gelding for his initial ride last outing.
“He’s consistent, but you seem to go up in the ratings when you run seconds or thirds without getting a picture on the wall,” Richards said.
“We’ve stuck with Connor because he rode him well the other day and the horse seemed to respond to him and he’s learned a bit about the horse also.
We’re hoping that will pay a dividend.”
Check the Australian betting sites for the top racing odds on The Dominant Advantage Handicap at Morphettville Parks.