Kembla Grange trainer Kerry Parker only ever has 20 or so horses in work and one of them, Think It Over, is a live chance in the $500,000 Rosehill Gold Cup.
The horse was a strong last-start winner of the Group Three Craven Plate on October 17 and Parker is happy with the way the So You Think five-year-old has handled the run, but he is also wary of the handicapper.
“He’s progressed along nicely from that last start win,” Parker said.
“They didn’t miss him in his benchmark points of course, he went up a fair way.
“He goes into the Cup here on Saturday with an ordinary barrier (gate 13) and the 59 kilograms but he probably deserved that after winning a weight-for-age race last start.”
Formerly trained at Randwick by John Sargent, Think It Over has revelled in the quieter environment of Parker’s south coast stable.
“Being a So You Think, they can be a bit funny and quirky at times,” Parker said.
“But the connections asked if I’d train him and he’s just clicked in a bit more of a leisurely environment down here.”
With rain forecast in Sydney and a wet track predicted, Parker believes the conditions shouldn’t be a factor for Think It Over, as long as it doesn’t become too much of a quagmire.
“His form in the wet hasn’t worried me before, I think he gets through it OK,” Parker said.
“But you wouldn’t want a horrible heavy ten with that weight.”
With limited horses in work, Parker is grateful to be competing at such a high level in Sydney.
“When you’ve got a horse of this calibre and are running in $500,000 races, it’s not easy to come by for a small stable,” Parker said.
Parker sees Think It Over’s weight and barrier as the main challenges, but also has respect for some of his lightly-weighted rivals.
“He’s got to give Purple Sector six kilograms, and I know he’s been racing very well lately,” Parker said.