Forsman upbeat about switch
WELLINGTON: Andrew Forsman was far from disappointed when last Saturday’s Doomben meeting fell foul of the big wet in Queensland.
The Cambridge trainer had voiced serious reservations about The Chosen One’s heavy track prospects in the Doomben Cup before the meeting was abandoned.
Take two of the cup will now be held at Eagle Farm this Saturday and Forsman has no complaints about the new venue.
‘‘It’s good for The Chosen One and the sun is out here now, although there is some rain in the forecast, but getting to Eagle Farm is the key for him,’’ he said.
Forsman has also rung the gear changes with The Chosen One to step out in blinkers, a tongue tie and a nose band.
‘‘Everything is well with him and he went to Eagle Farm for a good hitout on Tuesday morning.
‘‘He is as good as he can be and at the same time keeping him a bit fresh and getting a spark into him,’’ he said.
‘‘I hope the track is reasonable on Saturday and it would be nice to go there and not have the excuse of a wet track.’’
The Chosen One is very much in the twilight of a group 1winning career and if he performs up to expectations on Saturday, he will make his final appearance in the Q22 at Eagle Farm on June 11.
His younger stablemate Meritable has also done well since he produced a strong effort in his Australian debut to finish fourth on a wet track in the Gold Coast Guineas.
It was his first appearance since his second in the New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) in the spring.
Forsman said the extra distance of Saturday’s Fred Best Classic (1400m) would be much more to the Snitzel colt’s liking.
‘‘He got through the going better than a lot of them (at the Gold Coast) and for a horse that hadn’t run for such a long time, the run held a lot of merit,’’ he said.
‘‘He has improved a heap and I'm really looking forward seeing him getting up to 1400m.’’ — NZ Racing Desk