Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Forest Path on track

David Thiselton
Stephen Page had never sent out a Grade 1 winner as a trainer before this season, but now has two to his name, a fine feat by a small yard.
He will bid to add to the Grade 1 winning feats of Mokaro in the Canon Gold Cup and Field Flower in the Cape Fillie’s Guineas on J&B Met day on Saturday.
He will contest the big one, the Grade 1 J&B Met, as well as the Grade 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes and the Grade 2 J&B Reserve Stayers.
Page’s charge in the Met is Forest Path, a two-time Grade 1 winner formerly trained by Mike de Kock.
The Bridget Oppenheimer-owned Fort Wood gelding is known as an uptight horse, who wastes a lot of energy by playing up in the pre-race parade. However, his behaviour has improved since being accompanied by a pony down to the start. He consequently finished third in last year’s Vodacom Durban July over 2200m at Greyville, having set a very slow pace.
Forest Path was accompanied by a pony to the start of his workout on the Phillipi sand yesterday and stretched out very nicely on his own.
Page was happy with the workout and is happy with him overall.
“He was manageable on Queen’s Plate day. He had some bad luck when squeezed out in the straight but you will never know how he would have gone without that. I think he benefited from the run. He is a little horse, but has been working well and put up a good gallop on Saturday, which was his last hard work. He is now a fit horse.”
Asked on whom he thought was the one to beat, he said, “In the Met you really have to beat the whole field. Of course you’ve got to beat Pocket Power. To beat a horse who has the conditions so much in his favour is very tough. Pocket Power looked absolutely fantastic when they brought him in for saddling on Queen’s Plate day. He went down magnificently too.”
Page felt that Field Flower had a place chance in the Majorca Stakes and said that if Sparkling Gem was taken out of the race it would not be the strongest Grade 1 race.
He has a fine chance of landing the Reserve Stayers which he won with Mokaro last year.
“Mokaro and Noblewood have excellent form behind them and one can assume that they will run big races. Cloak Of Gold is in there to act as pacemaker if there is no pace on in the race.”
He said his other two runners on the day, South Island and Forest Vixen, who run in the first and the second races respectively, were “taking their chances in competitive races on the day.”

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