A little bit of care has helped turn The Sledgehammer from a one-time battling long-time maiden to a country cup champion with a string of victories to his name.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wellington trainer Michael Mulholland paid just $4000 for The Sledgehammer and the gelding arrived at his stables with just one win to his name, a poor racing pattern, and a number of physical issues.
But after a long spell The Sledgehammer saluted on debut for Mulholland at Warren before backing it with success at Dubbo Turf Club last month.
He then made it a hat-trick when recording a stunning upset in the Forbes Cup last time out and will be going for back-to-back features crowns when he contests Sunday's $37,000 Narromine Gold Cup (1600m).
READ ALSO:
"We'd have been happy to win another race, but he's just gone through the grades to country cups standard," Mulholland told Racing NSW.
"When I looked at his Victorian videos he wasn't racing tractably at all. Hanging and not holding a line.
""But he did run some decent races and I thought he was value. We gave him a good long break. Individual care can make a happy horse in a new environment.
"And his form says that's what we've got now. And the softer tracks always help them with leg issues."
Mature-age apprentice Kath Bell-Pitomac will again be in the saddle, having ridden the past three wins, but the recent success has had an impact.
After carrying 53.5kg to victory at Forbes he's been handed 59kg for Sunday, although Bell-Pitomac's 1.5kg claim eases that slightly.
"We'll be midfield and hopefully be able to close it off even if we've gone up the five kilos," Mulholland said.
"That's the concern. But he's holding his form, as good as I can get him anyway."
The performances have certainly caught the eye of punters with The Sledgehammer sitting as the $4.20 favourite on Friday afternoon.
The Dean Mirfin-trained Hamogany was on the second line at $4.80 while Brett Cavanough's Dubai Tycoon was at $5 and Herzegovina, to be ridden by Greg Ryan for Stephen Jones, was $6.50.
The Gold Cup headlines the bumper nine-race meeting on Sunday.
The Douglas Egan Memorial Benchmark 66 Handicap is the feature sprint event and will be run over 800m.
Mameli, a new addition to the Kody Nestor stables in Dubbo, was a $4 favourite for that event.
Racing starts at 11.55am.