Va Pensiero was allocated barrier 11 when the 2015 The Galaxy field was released yesterday, but trainer Jason Coyle is confident that the wide gate will not prove a problem for the talented sprinter in the Group 1 event at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Va Pensiero has the chance to record a maiden win at Group 1 level in the 2015 The Galaxy at Rosehill Gardens this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
Va Pensiero has been ridden close to the speed during the majority of his race starts and Coyle told Racing Ahead that he expects jockey Jason Collett to press forward on the Stratum entire in the early stages of The Galaxy and he is confident that the four-year-old has the speed required to cross the rest of the field.
“A couple of times we have tried to get him to settle back a bit further back than he has wanted to and it just hasn’t panned out for him,” Coyle said.
“I honestly think that the barrier is no issue for him, he will just sort of roll forward and Jason has had a couple of rides on him now.
“He will just find his comfort zone and if he gets a nice run in transit he is a horse that tries really hard to the winning post.”
Va Pensiero missed the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival due to a number of minor complications, but he made an impressive return to racing with a second place finish behind Miracles Of Life in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Royal Randwick on March 7.
Coyle was most impressed with the first-up performance of Va Pensiero and he believes that there are a number of factors that give the four-year-old the best possible chance to record a maiden win at Group 1 level in the 2015 The Galaxy.
“He is really well and we are looking forward to Saturday,” Coyle said.
“He is a very easy horse to train and he has a lot of natural ability.
“We have just ticked him over from his first-up run and he is doing well.
“If he hadn’t performed like that I don’t think that we would have ended up with a run in the race on Saturday, so hopefully it is falling into place nicely for him.
“His fresh form is very good and he obviously likes the Rosehill track.
“You would expect him to be a chance in a very competitive race on Saturday.”
Va Pensiero is currently available at 2015 The Galaxy odds of $21 with Ladbrokes, while Deep Field ($4.40) is a narrow favourite from Rubick ($5.50), Miracles Of Life ($6.50), Kuro ($7), and Sweet Idea ($8.50).
