Vlad Duric admits he has exceeded his own expectations since his move to Queensland just a few months ago.
The Caulfield Cup-winning hoop has ridden 12 winners since he relocated from Singapore to ride in the Sunshine State in April and, on Saturday, he’ll be legged aboard one of the leading contenders for the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap: Antino (NZ) (Redwood).
With the momentum that he’s currently enjoying, Duric hopes that he can use it to gain the right opportunities in his home state of Victoria as the Spring Carnival approaches.
“I’m really loving it up here,” Duric said.
“I’m getting good support, hopefully, if we can snag this race on the weekend, I’d love to come back to Melbourne through the carnival if I can snare a light ride in one of the good races, that would be the goal through the spring.”
Duric has been in the saddle for both of Antino’s runs this preparation; beginning with his first-up win in the G2 Victory Stakes, before he went on to finish only a few lengths off I Wish I Win in the G1 Kingsford-Smith Cup last time out.
The internationally respected rider has plenty of confidence that the Tony Gollan-trained gelding is heading into Saturday’s $3 million event in the right vein of form.
“I think the horse is absolutely flying to be honest,” Duric said.
“He was in a very strong race the other day against sprinting types and his best trip is probably a mile. He closed off really well in that Kingsford Smith the other day and his first-up win was exceptional, he was a month between runs in that race (the Kingsford Smith) and I think that run really brought him on.
“His trackwork’s been nice, he’s just done a bit of maintenance work, kept him fresh and Tony’s really, really pleased with him. That fills me with a lot of confidence with the horse.
“I think he’s the right horse for the race, I really do, just a little bit of luck on the day and he’s going to be right in the finish for sure.”
Antino was allocated stall 20 of 23 at Tuesday’s barrier draw for the Stradbroke Handicap, but that hasn’t worried those involved with the horse.
“Tony text me the barrier draw and he seemed pretty unfazed about it and I’m a little bit the same,” Duric said. “On the day, sometimes a wide draw can be better than an inside draw.
“We’ll just see how the day unfolds, there’s a lot of races to be run. He’s a balance-up sort of horse anyway at that trip, as the races go further, he can possie up a bit more but just at that shorter trip, he’s more of a balance up and he’s a very good chaser.
“I’ve just got to find a back and let him do the rest.”
Sportsbet has Antino at $9.50 for the Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
