Trainer Lindsay Smith is pleased with the condition of stable star Scales Of Justice after the Group 1 winner arrived safely in Victoria ahead of his 2017 Spring Carnival campaign.
Scales Of Justice ran second behind Stratum Star (pictured) in the Kingston Town Classic. Photo: Steve Hart
Scales Of Justice has been a standout in the nation’s west through recent seasons and has arrived in Victoria with an outstanding record of nine wins and eight minors from seventeen starts, highlighted by his impressive win in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) in November.
The Not A Single Doubt gelding flew from Smith’s base in Casuarina late last week and the trainer is pleased with the smooth transition that he has already started to make, ahead of a campaign which is set to include stops in the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) and Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m).
“He travelled over well,” Smith told AAP.
“We had the wind behind us from Perth and it only took us two hours and 20 minutes to get here,” Smith said.
“The journey to Warrnambool was a little bit harder on him, but he ate the majority of his feed the next day.
“It might do him some good being trained on top of the ground.
“We can still use the beach but he can have a couple of jump-outs at Warrnambool and then some trials somewhere.
“The different training I thought would be good and put more sprint in his legs.”
Resuming last October for second in a Bunbury minor over 1200m, Scales Of Justice again ran second behind Tradesman in an Ascot 1400m before returning to the winner’s stall in the Champion Fillies Day BM72+ (1600m).
Making a strong transition to black type company when a dominant winner of the Group 3 PJ Peters Stakes (1500m) on November 12th, the gelding out of Beymatilla beat closest rival Good Project by more than three lengths in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and was unlucky to end his campaign second by the bob of a head to Stratum Star in the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m).
Resuming this year for second behind Rock Magic in the Group 3 Belmont Sprint (1400m), Scales Of Justice posted consecutive wins in the Group 3 Hyperion Stakes (1600m) and Group 3 Strickland Stakes (2000m) and his two most-recent appearances.
A appearance in the Group 1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate at The Valley (2040m) is set to figure as the major campaign target for Scales Of Justice this time and he remains a $101 chance in early markets at Ladbrokes.com.au.
