SOFT CONDITIONS WOULD SUIT ROMANCER: BEGG

[Chief Stipe]

The weather forecasts played a big part in Grahame Begg’s decision to keep Romancer closer to home to run at Caulfield rather than travel him interstate.

With rain forecast for Melbourne over the coming days Begg has opted to run Romancer in Saturday’s Catanach’s Jewellers Handicap (1400m) over the Listed Winter Challenge in Sydney.

“The weather prediction was for the rain here and that’s what he relishes, getting soft ground,” Begg said.

Romancer has had three starts since being transferred to Begg earlier this year and is trained out of the Pinecliff property on the Mornington peninsula.

The five-year-old gelding won second-up for Begg in a heat of the Winter Championship Series Final over 1400m on a soft track at Flemington last month before finishing second in the Listed Winter Championship Series Final (1600m) at the same track last start on a track which got back to a good rating.

“He is going well,” Begg said.

“We’ve obviously changed his environment. He’s being trained out of Pinecliff and we don’t work him hard.

“He does relish soft tracks, which is one thing, and I really believe a mile (1600m) is right at the top of his distance range.

Given his belief Romancer is best-suited around 1400m, Begg is not concerned at all about dropping him back to that distance on Saturday.

“He’s had three weeks break between runs,” he said.

“We don’t have to do a lot of work with him. We just keep him ticking over.” -AAP

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