Concorde Stakes No Certainty For Fell Swoop

Trainer Matthew Dale has revealed that Fell Swoop is no certainty to make his debut at Group level in the 2015 Concorde Stakes at Royal Randwick on September 5.

Fell Swoop will make his black-type racing debut in either the Concorde Stakes at Royal Randwick on September 5 or the Drummond Golf Stakes at Moonee Valley on the same day. Photo by: Steve Hart

Fell Swoop will make his black-type racing debut in either the Concorde Stakes at Royal Randwick on September 5 or the Drummond Golf Stakes at Moonee Valley on the same day. Photo by: Steve Hart

Dale said in the lead-up to the TAB Rewards Handicap (1000m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday that Fell Swoop would press on to the Concorde Stakes if he was able to win on the weekend, but the Canberra-based trainer told Racing Ahead that he is now considering sending the Not A Single Doubt gelding to Melbourne for the Listed Drummond Golf Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on September 5.

“Leading into Saturday I probably had him going to the Concorde Stakes in two weeks’ time, but coming out of Saturday he just showed that he was looking for a bit further,” Dale said.

“I am going to assess during the week and I will have a look at the Concorde Stakes if the rain is still about.

“If it was a really firm track I would leave that race aside because they would be a bit sharp for him, so we will look also at the Listed race on the same day at Moonee Valley.

“We will weight it up later in the week.

“I don’t want to push him too far this spring, but he has definitely earnt his crack at a better race.”

While Dale is unsure about his future plans with Fell Swoop, he could not be happier with the way that the four-year-old has come out of his comfortable victory at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Fell Swoop has now recorded six wins from his eight race starts, but Dale believes that the talented sprinter is only now starting to put it together on the race track and will be an even better horse in the autumn.

“We were wrapped with his performance,” Dale said.

“He probably had a little bit less x-factor there on Saturday coming back from a wet track 1100 metre win and I thought his effort was super under the circumstances.

“He came through as good as he has ever come through any of his runs.

“He has held his condition, he ate up well and we are wrapped with the way that he has come through the run.”

Fell Swoop was purchased for $45,000 at the 2013 Inglis Classic Yearling Summer Sale and he has already accumulated over $150,000 in prizemoney for connections.

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Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.