El Segundo Takes Slip-up In His Stride

The Age

Wednesday October 11, 2006

ANDREW EDDY

COLIN Little is in a comfortable place at the moment. Just 18 days before the Cox Plate, the trainer of the overwhelming favourite could see only a positive side to what could have been an untimely mishap at Caulfield yesterday morning.

Having his first serious gallop since his Underwood Stakes romp 17 days ago, El Segundo, working out wide on the course proper with race jockey Darren Gauci aboard, slipped for a stride on making the turn into the home straight.

For Little, this was, in many ways, an encouraging sign.

Gauci later said he let the horse "flow" through the turn and ensured he had not overstretched, before pushing him out for a sprint over the final 200 metres. The result of the incident was that El Segundo did not quite have the searching workout his trainer had desired, but Little was anything but concerned.

"The track was a little greasy and so we had to be conservative when he had that little slip on the home turn," Little said. "But at least it showed that the track has had some water on it."

The state of the Caulfield track, not so much the quality of the opposition, appears to be El Segundo's main danger as he goes into Saturday's group 1 Yalumba Stakes on his way to the $3 million Cox Plate two weeks later at Moonee Valley.

A firm track at Caulfield on Saturday would put more doubts in Little's mind about him winning a Cox Plate than if his horse is beaten in the Yalumba, for which he is certain to start at odds-on.

Little said the horse has "little issues" with jarring up on hard ground. He had a recurrence of a joint problem last month and the trainer has since taken him to the beach, iced his legs and even applied poultices to his forelegs as a preventive measure.

"It has taken a long time for the industry to recognise what sorts of tracks we should be racing on," Little said. "I am sure they will produce a track with a little give in it and they obviously watered overnight as there was still some water on the grass.

"It's pretty simple. The harder the track, the more percentage of horses break down," he said.

Little said he was happy enough with El Segundo's workout yesterday, galloping 1400 metres in even time before reeling off his final 600 metres in 38.2 seconds and last 400 in 23.8.

"It was about right," he said. "I probably wanted him to go a little harder, but we've got Thursday and Friday up our sleeve if we need them.

"He might do pacework on Friday if I think he needs it."

Gauci said El Segundo had galloped easily before one of his hind legs slipped on the home turn. "I just let him flow through it. He didn't extend right out, so he might need another bit of work on Thursday, but he's ticking over perfectly."

Also working yesterday at Caulfield was another Yalumba Stakes-Cox Plate contender, Pompeii Ruler. He jarred up at his last start, in the Underwood Stakes, but has since recovered and, according to his Yalumba rider Noel Callow, was on track for a career-best run this Saturday. "He couldn't work any better," he said.

Trainer Mick Price was also enthusiastic that Pompeii Ruler could bounce back from his lacklustre Underwood showing, although he knows he faces a task.

"He's going along pretty well," he said. "But you'd be a brave man to think you could beat El Segundo."

© 2006 The Age

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