Jockey Michael Rodd believes that the 2014 Doomben 10,000 is the right race for Spirit Of Boom and is confident that the consistent sprinter will be tough to hold out in the Group 1 event at Doomben on Saturday.
Spirit Of Boom is rated one of the leading chances in the 2014 Doomben 10,000 this weekend. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Spirit Of Boom scored his maiden win at Group 1 level in the William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on March 21 and has been narrowly denied victories in both the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm on April 26 and the Group 1 BTC Cup (1200m) at Doomben on May 10.
Rodd told Racing Ahead this morning that he is delighted with the form of Spirit Of Boom this preparation and believes that his inside Doomben 10,000 barrier draw gives the son of Sequalo an excellent opportunity to score his second win at Group 1 level.
“Tony Gollan has done a fantastic job with my bloke and he has just held his form so well,” Rodd said.
“He is racing in career best form and this is his second last run before he goes off to stud and he doesn’t have to improve to win.
“The barrier draw was the big plus and when I saw that yesterday I was relived.
“I’m not going to push him out of the gates and do anything silly, but he will just naturally land a bit closer and if I had been able to do that last start in the BTC Cup he would have won for sure.
“As long as he is holding his form and we get that element of luck, which he needs being a backmarker, he is going to be very hard to hold out.”
While Rodd is confident that Spirit Of Boom will maintain his form in the Doomben 10,000 this weekend, he admits that he is worried about a potential track bias at Doomben on Saturday.
The Doomben track was heavily favored towards leaders at the Doomben Cup meeting and Rodd believes that it will make his job on Spirit Of Boom much more difficult if it plays the same way tomorrow.
“It is really hard to call the way it is going to play at the moment,” Rodd said,
“I will get out there and have a look, but it probably won’t be until we see a couple of races go by till a pattern does come out.
“They have tipped the rail out a couple more minutes and hopefully that can help to even things out.
“If it running the way that it was last week I am probably going to find it a little bit harder on this bloke and I just hope with the race to suit tomorrow and the rail coming out that it might help things even up for us.”
Spirit Of Boom is currently available at Doomben 10,000 odds of $4.80; with popular sprinter Buffering ($4) still a narrow favourite from Gary Portelli-trained Rebel Dane ($4.60).
