So near yet so Farnan
GOLDEN Slipper winner Farnan is ready to put a rollercoaster spring behind him at Flemington on Saturday.
Co-trainer Adrian Bott has spent the past week in Melbourne with his stable’s star son of Not A Single Doubt.
He said the valuable colt was ready to return at his best in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).
It’s been far from an easy road for Farnan to reach the spring’s premier three-yearold sprint.
The future stallion began his campaign on the wrong foot when the victim of a controversially hot speed in the Run To The Rose that led to a 20-day suspension — later overturned — for jockey Hugh Bowman.
Farnan then had a series of setbacks that saw him miss the Roman Consul Stakes and lose his slot in The Everest.
Despite the turbulent preparation, there is confidence at Tulloch Lodge that Farnan is ready to deliver in his spring grand final after impressing in recent trials and jumpouts.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes agrees and has Farnan as a $5 equal favourite for the Coolmore Stud Stakes, alongside Chris Waller’s in-form filly September Run.
The field will be finalised on Tuesday.
“He is ready to go,” said Bott, who trains with Gai Waterhouse. “He has pulled up well from his jumpout last week down the straight, which was just to give him a bit of experience anyway.
“It went well and he handled the straight, but we didn’t need to do much with him.
“After his trial last week in Gosford, his fitness is already where it needs to be.”
Farnan will have in-form jockey Glen Boss on board for the first time on Saturday.
Bott and Waterhouse will target a Group 1 double at Flemington, with Shout The Bar seeking a return to her best in the Empire Rose Stakes (1600m). The Not A Single Doubt mare has failed to recapture the form that took her to a win in the Group 1 Vinery Stud Stakes last autumn.
“She has travelled down in good order,” Bott said. “We were tempted to keep her in Sydney and run in the Golden Eagle, but felt 1500m might have been too sharp for her.
“A strong mile against the older mares is where she is better placed and she can chase more valuable black type. It also gives us the option to back her up later in the Matriarch.”