If he could get away with it, Griffith horse trainer Gino D’Altorio would be tempted to move the starting gate 200m closer to the finish line for the Carrathool Cup (1400m) on Saturday.
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D’Altorio is saddling up Devious Fella in the $14,500 feature but has concerns about the galloper’s fitness.
Devious Fella hasn’t raced since December and has never won past 1200m.
While it’s not the type of record that will excite punters, D’Altorio has been in the racing game long enough to know horses can surprise when least expected.
“He (Devious Fella) is first up from a spell. I don’t know if he’s fit enough for the run, but you never know,” he said.
“Normally he’s pretty good first up. He runs well fresh.
“It’s just the 1400m I’m not sure about. If it was 1200m he’d be a top chance.
“But he’s there to run it and he’s there to win it if he can.”
Devious Fella has never raced at Carrathool before but has experience on dirt tracks after finishing fifth over 1200m in Hay last November. For the five-year-old gelding to be a chance on Saturday, D’Altorio thinks Devious Fella will have to set the pace.
“I’d probably want him to get to the front because I don’t want him to get sand in his face,” he said.
“In Hay he ran a fair race. He was kind of jacked up all day. I don’t know why.
“He still ran all right, but I was expecting a little bit more from him.”
D’Altorio is taking five horses to Carrathool and believes Rocchetta Miss is his stable’s best hope.
The four-year-old will jump in the BN Proud & Co Benchmark 45 Handicap (1000m) and like Devious Fella is coming off a spell.
But D’Altorio doesn’t think the distance will pose any problems.
“I think she’s going to be a big chance,” D’Altorio said of Rocchetta Miss.
“She's a frontrunner, and I think she’ll be fit enough for the 1000m. She’ll be there to win it.”
D’Altorio makes the trip to Carrathool every year and normally returns with something to show for his efforts.
“It’s a really good day. We always come back home with a couple of winners, or a win and a place,” he said.