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.
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“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.