Racing
Warm weather suits Rey Magnerio
Melbourne galloper Rey Magnerio has thrived in the warmer Perth climate ahead of The Gold Rush.
Robbie Griffiths is already planning a return trip to Perth next year for another rich sprint race with Reg Magnerio.
The Quokka, run over 1200m at Ascot in April, is in the back of Griffiths' mind but first there is the Group 3 The Gold Rush (1400m) on Saturday.
Griffiths said Rey Magnerio has thrived in the warmer weather in Perth.
"There has been some interest in him for The Quokka and the way he travelled over and has thrived, I think it is something that we should look at," Griffiths said.
"Everytime we have tried to go to The Goodwood (at Morphettville) in May, he turns into a hairy yak and breaks (into a winter coat) earlier than others, so we haven't been able to take him away.
"We thought we'd take him for the warmer weather and if it all worked well there, then we could take him to a Doomben 10,000 and then into The Stradbroke (in Brisbane).
"We'll work around the warmer climate with him as I haven't seen a horse thrive like him."
Rey Magnerio had his first run in Perth when finishing third in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) at Ascot on November 29.
Leading Perth rider William Pike rode Rey Magnerio that day and has the sit again.
While it will be Rey Magnerio's first attempt at 1400m, Griffiths has no doubts the gelding will handle the journey.
"We haven't had the need to try him prior because he's always had suitable sprint races in front of him," Griffiths said.
"We went over for the Winterbottom, he pulled-up fantastic, so we thought rather than rest up and go for a Rubiton Stakes (at Caulfield in February) worth $200,000, there's a $1.5 million race there in front of us and he's thrived.
"He's out of a Testa Rossa mare and I've trained horses out of the family that have won over 2000 metres and some of our Magnus', like King Magnus, their best form has been at a mile.
"On genetics, he should run it easily, it's just we haven't tried him yet."
Griffiths expects Rey Magnerio to be handy from barrier five but will leave the tactics to Pike.
"There are a few horses that go forward and will take those spots, but I can't see him being too far off them," Griffiths said.
"Pikey was pretty adamant that if you switch barriers with Jokers Grin (in the Winterbottom) he would have had the sit on the back of Liberated and it would have been a different story."
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