Darryl Sherer
Zacinto gelding Odeon has still left a few unanswered questions after Saturday’s fifth-placing in the Gr.2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m), but his connections are hoping they will be answered at his next start.
“It was probably a pass mark,” said Simon Zahra, who co-trains the stakes winner at Flemington with Mathew Ellerton.
“He was with the winner (Magic Consul) and then the winner got going and he got held up a bit and lost his momentum and couldn’t sprint. It was a pass mark but we’re still scratching our heads a little bit.
“He’s ticking over well and the horse has pulled up extremely well which is the main thing.”
The New Zealand Bloodstock Sales graduate will now head to the Gr.3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield in a fortnight’s time before his connections rethink their spring strategy with the gelding.
“He’s a five-year-old now and we have given him plenty of time, we’re just not sure if he is quite at weight-for-age level, so that’s probably the key going into his next run,” Zahra said.
“I’m not too sure whether The Valley suits him either, he likes to wind up a bit and maybe we might be riding him a fraction close.
“If you look at all his wins he has been ridden midfield and got on the back of something and got a nice cart into the race. So that is an option in two weeks when we go to the Naturalism.”