Trainer Aaron Purcell faces a decision for Dashing’s weekend campaign, with the five-year-old gelding entered for both Saturday’s $500,000 Cranbourne Cup (1600m) and Sunday’s Listed Kilmore Cup (1600m).
With Dashing drawing barrier four in the Cranbourne Cup’s strong field of 16, Purcell will wait for Thursday’s Kilmore fields before making a final call.
“A good draw at Cranbourne makes that an appealing race, but we won’t make the call yet,” he said.
Dashing, who has six wins and 11 placings from 29 starts, has shown his best form over 1600m to 1800m.
While he struggled on rain-affected ground at Flemington last start, Purcell is confident in the gelding’s readiness, saying,
“He’s bouncing around and ready to go to the races again.”
Acknowledging the strength of the Cranbourne Cup field, Purcell believes Dashing can be competitive with the right conditions and aims to target country cups through the remainder of spring.
