Odyssey Moon will run in the 2015 Caulfield Guineas Prelude this weekend and trainer Rodney Northam believes that there will be no excuses for the colt if he fails to fire in the Group 3 event on Saturday.
Odyssey Moon has the chance to return to winning form in the 2015 Caulfield Guineas Prelude this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
A great deal was expected of Odyssey Moon ahead of the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival after he finished second in the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on April 6 and he started his preparation with a credible third in the Listed McKenzie Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on August 22, but he was slightly disappointing when fifth in the Listed Pin And Win Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on September 12.
Northam told Racing Ahead that he may have gone a bit easy on Odyssey Moon in the lead-up to the Pin And Win Stakes, but he is confident that the Snitzel colt will be close to his peak for the Caulfield Guineas Prelude this weekend.
“I am happy with him,” Northam said.
“He ran ok and I just might have had him a little bit pretty, he might have got away from me a little bit.
“He was three weeks between runs, second-up and he had obviously enjoyed his time in Melbourne.
“He loomed to win the race and just sort of flattened out in condition.
“He was needing the run.
“He has come through it really well, he has done a nice bit of work since and I am looking forward to getting him to Caulfield third run in.
“There will be no excuses.”
Northam is leaving nothing to chance with Odyssey Moon in the lead-up to the Caulfield Guineas Prelude and he elected to give the three-year-old the chance to jump over some hurdles at trackwork this morning.
The Scone-based trainer is hopeful that this training method will help sharpen Odyssey Moon up for the Caulfield Guineas Prelude and he is likely to persist with the technique in the lead-up to the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 10.
“He went over a couple of little hurdles this morning and he will do the same thing on Friday just to sharpen him up,” Northam said.
“Being a colt, we just have to keep his mind on the job, but he really enjoyed it this morning and we expect him to be improved by it.”
Damien Oliver has jumped off Odyssey Moon and Steven Arnold has been booked to take the ride in the Caulfield Guineas Prelude.
