Ray Hickson
The drier the Rosehill surface is today, the harder to beat promising three-year-old Compensation will be.
Thatโs the simple assessment of Bjorn Bakerโs racing manager Luke Hilton as the gelding looks to notch his first win in the Agency Real Estate Handicap (1100m).
Compensation started odds-on at his debut at Warwick Farm last month and Hilton said the stable had its collective fingers crossed that the soft 7 conditions wouldnโt bring him undone.
As it turned out, he was involved in a battle up front with Metallic Cat, twice a winner since, and couldnโt sustain it in ground jockey Rachel King confirmed heโs not overly comfortable with.
โIt was a good effort, the track played against him,โ Hilton said. โWe havenโt had many Written Tycoons that get through a softish track, he just didnโt stretch out and let down like he had in his trials and at home.
โRach said in his trials heโs a fast horse and he really gets low and stretches right out, and he didnโt feel like that on the wetter surface.
โWe thought about running at Gosford because of a dry track, but weโve waited for the 1100m at Rosehill, rail out, all looks well – we just want a good enough surface.โ
It wasnโt until late August that Compensation had his first trial after missing his entire two-year-old season.
Hilton said there were no major issues that delayed his racing career but now heโs up and running the camp would like to make up for that lost time.
โHeโs impressive at home, heโs taken a while and the owners have been patient with him,โ he said. โHopefully they will reap the benefits. I think heโs a horse thatโs going to be able to stretch out a bit further in time.
โI donโt think heโs a one-trick pony and if he gets the right circumstances he will run well.โ
A first-up win isnโt expected from Point And Shoot in the Kia Ora Bloodlines To Headlines Handicap (1100m) but Hilton said itโs an important starting point for the talented but enigmatic galloper.
โWeโve been really pleased with his trials and his mindset has been great,โ he said.
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