Portelli lines up for Brisbane hat-trick
SYDNEY trainer Gary Portelli is adhering to the principle of when you find a good thing stick with it.
Portelli will be chasing a Brisbane winner for the third week in a row with Single Bullet in the VAE Group Handicap (1050m) at Doomben tomorrow.
Single Bullet was an impressive Eagle Farm winner two weeks ago and the Portelli-trained Picaro won at the same track last week.
“The Sydney carnival this year is very strong and you have to look elsewhere to place your horses where they can win,” Portelli said.
“Brisbane provides that for horses such as Single Bullet at this stage of their career.”
Single Bullet has won only four races and is paying at the weights for earlier form in black-type races.
He won the Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes as a two-year-old and has since been placed three times in Group races.
Single Bullet will carry 59.5kg tomorrow after Portelli decided to stick with senior rider Michael Cahill.
“Michael has won two of his past three rides for me so why change,” he said.
Premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan hopes his patience is rewarded when Capital Connection attempts to win his first open company race in the same event.
Capital Connection was scratched from Eagle Farm last week to run in tomorrow’s race.
Gollan said he had decided to wait after Capital Connection drew wide last Saturday.
“He had a terrible barrier and I thought it would have been messy trying to get across,” he said. “We have been rewarded with an ideal barrier in four this week.
“It means Capital Connection should get a perfect run third or fourth near the rails.”
Capital Connection has been carefully managed by Gollan having won five of his 15 starts.
Gollan will use his apprentice Baylee Nothdurft on Garibaldi in the JLL ThreeYear-Old Handicap (1110m).
The trainer hopes Nothdurft’s 2kg claim will help with barrier eight which can be tricky from the 1110m start.
“Garibaldi will carry 55.5kg, which isn’t bad for a horse which has been Group 2 placed, but the barrier can be a worry from that start,” Gollan said.
“He has had a little setback and he needs to run if he is going to run in the southern carnivals.”
Gollan had planned to run Garibaldi in the Danehill Stakes at Flemington but the colt had a minor infection.
THE SYDNEY CARNIVAL THIS YEAR IS VERY STRONG AND YOU HAVE TO LOOK ELSEWHERE TO PLACE YOUR HORSES WHERE THEY CAN WIN
TRAINER GARY PORTELLI