Jockey Beau Mertens has a special affinity with Attrition and will go anywhere to continue his association with the galloper.
That association will take Mertens to Morphettville Parks on Saturday where Attrition lines up in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) first-up on Saturday.
Mertens was a successful apprentice who battled it out with Craig Williams for the Melbourne Jockeys’ Premiership in the 2016-17 season but had to wait until last spring to register his first Group 1 success.
That success came aboard Attrition in the Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield when the pair just edged out Queensland visitor Antino.
Mertens got the call up that day to replace Ben Melham who could not make the weight.
Attrition did not come up as expected in the autumn and was spelled after two runs.
Mertens was only aboard in one of those outings having been injured in a race fall at Stony Creek prior to Attrition’s return in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield in February.
The jockey was back aboard when Attrition finished six lengths astern of the winner in the Group 3 Victoria Handicap at Caulfield in April.
Mertens has ridden Attrition in a jump-out and a trial placing at Echuca and also galloped the horse in preparation for his return, and said while the gelding was going well, he was short of full fitness.
“I’ll follow him around everywhere after what he’s done for my career,” Mertens said of his decision to head to Adelaide for Saturday’s return run.
“He’s had a couple of trials now and I’ve done a gallop on him, and he’s still coming into it.
“He’s probably not 100 per cent wound up, but he needs to kick off somewhere and that seems to be the right place.
“I think they’ve made the right call in taking him over there, but I think this run on Saturday should bring him on nicely and hopefully over there he can run really well and be finding the line after the setbacks he had last prep.
“Hopefully now he can come into this prep and have a nice campaign.”
Attrition will not be Mertens’ sole ride on Saturday as he is booked to partner Mitch Freedman-trained stablemates Switch Hit in the Sportsbet Nobody Does It Better Maiden and Adelaide Ace in the Dominant Handicap along with Craft Star for Andrew Noblet in the Peter Elberg Funerals Handicap.
