HORSE RACING

ROB Blacker hopes his Adelaide Cup plans for his promising stayer Tigertiger can come to fruition on Monday 14 March.

The lightly raced six-year-old spectacularly rose through the grades over the spring from winning in maiden grade to winning a Stakes race in his first preparation with the Mornington-based trainer.

Since claiming the Listed Bagot Handicap (2800m) at Flemington on New Year’s day, Blacker has had the former New Zealand stayer solely aimed towards the Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m).

Tigertiger had a freshen up following that Stakes success and has since put in two promising runs at Flemington. He finished seventh over 2000m last month before then running a game second last Saturday over 2600m.

Blacker said everything he’s done this prep has been purely geared towards getting Tigertiger ready for the 3200m contest.

“I was really happy with how he went on Saturday, I don’t think we could’ve gone any better,” Blacker said.

“I had him ready for the two miles on Saturday because it’s a really short turn around to the Adelaide Cup. I didn’t want to be having to do anything with him for fitness in between now and Adelaide, I just wanted it to be mainly recovery.”

Blacker said he didn’t want to overdo it with the lightly framed stayer.

“He’d be very, very easy for someone to overdo it with as he doesn’t carry a lot of condition which is tricky for a stayer because you need the miles in their legs. You need to know the horse and my son Natz, who rides him in all of his work, has done a great job with him,” he said.

Blacker is confident the rise to the 3200m won’t pose a problem for the son of Zed.

“I’ve got no worries about the race and no worries about the distance. We will run into Daqiansweet Junior and Skelm and I think they’re just very good quality stayers and there’s no evidence that we’re any better than them yet,” he said.

“We’re going there fit and ready but I’m not going there assuming we’re definitely the best horse in the race. We’ve still got to prove that, and our hope is that the 3200m is of more of an advantage to us than to the other horses in the field.”

Jockey Harry Coffey is likely to take up the ride on Tigertiger who is expected to get in low at the weights.

“I think we’ll be on the minimum, maybe half of a kilo over,” Blacker estimated.

First published in the Mornington News – 8 March 2022