The training partnership of Ben, Will, and J D Hayes from Lindsay Park is optimistic about securing further wins with their in-form stayer at Flemington.
The Western Front is set to contest a 2500m handicap on Saturday, continuing his consistent performances.
This New Zealand-bred gelding comes off a victory in the Listed Sandown Cup (3200m) on May 31 and will be striving for his fifth win this preparation on Saturday.
The Western Front commenced his campaign in January, securing fourth place in two 1600m races at Flemington and Pakenham before finding winning form over 2025m at Cranbourne.
A subsequent trip to Sydney preceded The Western Front’s successful runs over 2400m at Caulfield and then 2500m at Flemington, both occurring in April.
The gelding’s performance in the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m), where he finished sixth, might appear to be his poorest run on paper.
However, J D Hayes indicated that the stable was not disappointed with the run, a sentiment validated by his subsequent victory in the Sandown Cup.
Zibulon, who finished second at Sandown, has since achieved another second placing in the Brisbane Cup (3200m) last Saturday. In the Andrew Ramsden, the runner-up Pounding went on to secure second place in the Q22 at Eagle Farm.
“He was quite good in the Andrew Ramsden at set-weights as he was giving a lot of weight away,” Hayes said.
“He’s rock hard fit, he stays well.
“Ideally, we would love to stay at 3200 (metres), but this was the next option in Victoria, and he’s shown that he has trained on beautifully.”
Hayes mentioned that there are no concrete plans for The Western Front at this moment, but as long as the gelding maintains his strong form, he will continue racing through the winter period.
Potential upcoming races include the Banjo Paterson Series Final (2600m) at Flemington on July 4 and the Deane Lester-Flemington Cup 1849 (2800m) a fortnight later.
“The remaining staying races through the winter are possibilities and then be the fit horse in the early part of the spring,” Hayes said.
“We’ll go run by run, but the plan is not to stop and hopefully he can be a bit of an ATM.
“They win more money in work than out of work.”
With The Western Front in such strong staying form, punters will be looking for the best Australian betting sites to back him in his next start.