Stable favourite Picargo, is up for the challenge of the Group 3 Behemoth Stakes on Saturday. Heading into the race in fantastic form Picargo (AKA Franc the tank) has definitely deserved his chance at the Morphettville feature.
Drawn wide in barrier 11 out of 12 acceptors, stable apprentice Alana Livesey will have to use all her skill to get Franc into a nice trailing position early in the race. Ryan suggested it would have been good to get a nice draw somewhere between 3 and 6 but there are a couple of speed horses in the field but also a lot of horses that like to get back, if Alana can jump well and get across without incident we should be in a nice position in the first 5 or 6 runners, from there he will be poised to strike and should acquit himself well. The biggest query is how much pressure will be put on in front, we know Savatoxl will lead, it is just if anyone will pressure him early.
Image: Courtesy of Rising Sun Photography
Other Runners
Other stable runners on Saturday are
Race 2
Tres Belle (Barrier 11) – Picargo’s half sister lines up in this 1200m maiden. Off the back of a super impressive 2nd on debut at Gawler, she like her brother has drawn awkwardly in barrier 11, once again she should get back early before launching late for Alana. It is hard to line up the form of the race with half the field being 1st starters but Ryan and Alana should be confident of a bold showing.
Race 4
Deevine (6) and Viduka (2) both are backing up from last Saturday, where Viduka ran a much improved race for 3rd and retains the services of Dom Tourneur, Deevine will be looking to bounce back to winning form after a slightly below level performance last week in a race where the backmarkers struggled to make ground.
Race 5
Whosezou (3) – seven weeks between runs, will appreciate a firmer track and will hopefully finish in the first half of the field.
Race 6
Kong (7) – huge run last time behind Deevine and Alana sticks with him. Remains in the same class of race but this one does look at bit stronger with some horses coming out of the Lightning Stakes, still expect him to be in the finish again.
Race 7
Stella Notation (2) – She will appreciate being on a firmer surface to last time and has drawn to get the run of the race. Her maiden win before a spell was impressive and at the 1500m she will be around the mark.