Tanby has failed to fire in two race starts during the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival, but trainer Mick Cerchi is hopeful that the tough stayer can return to a semblance of his best form in the 2015 Ballarat Cup on Saturday.
Tanby outstayed his rivals to score a narrow win in the 2015 Adelaide Cup. Photo by: Jenny Barnes
Tanby returned to the races with a flat effort in the Listed Seymour Cup (1600m) on October 18 and he was never able to get into the race when he finished at the tail of the field in the Listed Symphony Stakes (1800m) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day.
Cerchi remains confident that Tanby still has the will to race and he told Racing Ahead this morning that Galileo gelding is still short of peak fitness, but is ready to run good race in the 2015 Ballarat Cup.
“He is starting to trim up a bit,” Cerchi said.
“He was pretty fat when he came back in and we just took him along slow and gave him a win in the Seymour Cup.
“They ran him off his legs in that race and then he went to Flemington and they went home pretty quick.
“Those two runs have tightened him up a bit and hopefully we will see a better run on Saturday.
“He is probably still another run or two way from where he would need to be to win, but I am definitely looking for an improved run.”
Tanby finished second in the Listed Bagot Handicap (2800m) and second in the Rain Lover Handicap (2500m) before he took out the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m) during his summer campaign last year and Cerchi confirmed that the veteran stayer will follow the exact same path at the end of 2015 and into the start of 2016.
“The main race that we would be thinking he would be winning is the Bagot, which he won second in last year and then he will head to the Adelaide Cup,” Cerchi said.
“It will be the exact same program.
“It worked last time and hopefully it will work again.
“He is a gentlemen and we are hoping for another good season out of him.”
Tanby is set to have his second straight start in the Ballarat Cup after he finished seventh behind Mujadale in the 2014 edition of the race.
The 2015 Ballarat Cup field has been released and Tanby is set to take on the likes of Junoob, Mujadale and Sonntag in the Listed event this weekend.
