Trainer John McArdle has confirmed that talented juvenile Power Trip will return to the races in the 2016 Blue Diamond Preview at Caulfield on Tuesday.
Power Trip is set to return to the races in the 2016 Blue Diamond Preview next week. Photo by: Ultimate Race Photos
Power Trip stamped himself as a horse to follow when he scored an impressive win in a barrier trial over 800 metres at Cranbourne on October 20 before he made his racing debut with a narrow victory in the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) at Flemington on November 7.
McArdle sent Power Trip for a brief break following his impressive debut victory, but he told Sky Racing HQ that the Hard Spun gelding will contest the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) at Caulfield on January 26, the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) at Caulfield on February 13 and the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at the same venue on February 27.
“He is ready to run in the Blue Diamond Preview,” McArdle said
“At this stage as long as he has a good gallop on Saturday morning and Jamie is happy with him then he will head there on Tuesday.
“We will assess after that, but the plan all going well is to run in the Preview, the Prelude and then the Blue Diamond.
“He is a natural horse, he does everything that you ask him too and he is a really good doer.
“We are pretty happy with the way that he is coping so far.”
Power Trip has not made a public appearance since his Maribyrnong Plate win, but McArdle said that he has been happy with the way the two-year-old has progress ahead of his return to racing.
McArdle revealed that Power Trip had won a jump out last week and impressed both his trainer as well as regular rider Jamie Mott with his performance.
“He did have a jump out, but just a quiet one,” McArdle said.
“He has been galloping with older horses leading up to his jump out and he just had a jump out last Wednesday.
“He settled back last and came around them and won very easily.
“They didn’t run any super time, but he was in second gear and it was just to get him back in a Group of horses and get him galloping out of the barriers again.
“At this point it all seems to be on target.”
Power Trip is currently available at 2016 Blue Diamond Stakes odds of $17 with Ladbrokes and he is on the fifth line of betting behind Extreme Choice ($6), Calliope ($9), Defcon ($9) and Hell Of An Effort ($15).
