Contributer has been backed into 2015 Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes odds of $1.75 and the support is expected to continue ahead of the Group 2 event at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Contributer will start the 2015 Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes as a clear favourite. Photo by: Steve Hart
Bookmakers were very conservative in their Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes betting markets and Contributer opened at $1.90, but that did not stop punters diving in and he has been a clear market mover.
Contributer has not been seen at the races since he suffered an injury that ruled him out of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on April 11, but trainer John O’Shea told Racing Ahead that the High Chaparral entire is in excellent order and should have no problems getting around Moonee Valley in the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes tomorrow.
“He is in good order,” O’Shea said.
“He is probably a bit heavy than he was normally, but he has just developed as he gets older and with a bit of warmer weather down here he is doing quite well.
“He has worked well, he has a good foundation and he will run well on Saturday.
“I think he will handle it alright and I don’t think there will be too much drama.
“Most importantly the surface is what he will like because he doesn’t like wet ground, but he likes a forgiving surface and you get that at the Valley.
“He has got around Goodwood and places like that and I am sure that he will get around it on Saturday.”
While O’Shea is happy with the condition of Contributer ahead of the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes, he admits that he is slightly concerned about where the five-year-old will be settled in the early stages of the race.
Moonee Valley can be a graveyard for horses that draw inside gates and are settled midfield, so O’Shea is hopeful that Contributer can jump with the rest of the field and be placed in a position to hit the line strongly in the final stages.
“There will not be too much tactics,” O’Shea said.
“We will just be leaving it to Dwayne Dunn and just make sure that he breaks from the gates the best he can because he is not the best away from the gate.
“If he misses the kick by too much he could find himself back too far on the inside and we will just try and hold our position a little bit, give him a nice soft run in the race and make sure he is going his best work late.”
There has been a sprinkling of support for The Cleaner ($7 into $6.50) in the Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes betting market at Ladbrokes and Mourinho is the only other horse that is available at single figure Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes odds.
