Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr’s stable has sent former European galloper See That Storm back to the trials following a poor showing on his Australian debut.
See That Storm trailed the field home in his initial Australian outing at Caulfield on May 30, finishing more than 10 lengths adrift of the winner, Jimmy The Bear.
Kent Jnr elaborated that See That Storm’s race was effectively over before he even entered the mounting yard.
“He’s a nice horse but he had a bad experience at his first Australian start,” Kent Jnr said.
“He got very hot in the mounting yard, he wasted a lot of energy behind the gates.
“The instructions were to come back from an outside gate and hit the line, where was he, outside the lead, pulling, going head-and-head with El Rocko on a day where every winner, bar two, was widest in the straight.
“We were in the worst ground in the middle of the track, doing way too much work at a mile off a 10-month layoff.
“It was a disaster.”
The David Bourke (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday has been identified by the Price and Kent Jnr stable as the target for See That Storm.
As part of the gelding’s preparation for his second Australian appearance, See That Storm participated in a trial at Caulfield Heath on Thursday, securing second-to-last place over 1050m.
However, Kent Jnr indicated that the experience of transporting See That Storm away from Cranbourne would prove beneficial for the gelding in the long term.
“We wanted to take him back to Caulfield to give him a nice experience,” Kent Jnr said.
“We got him in the mounting yard early and he didn’t turn a hair, plus he was good behind the gates.
“He shanghaied out of the gates again, but we wanted to bring him back over the 1000 (metres), let the speed go and teach him something and I thought he found the line well.
“He’ll go to a mile at Flemington on Saturday and if the ground is not too bad, I would expect an improved showing and then we’re on our way to 2000 metres.
“He’s a nice horse, but last time was just a complete forgive.”
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