Moe trainer Peter Gelagotis is now eyeing some spring targets for Blandford Lad (NZ) (Savabeel) after he made it back-to-back wins at Sandown on Wednesday.
“He’s starting to live up to the big ticket I put on him early doors,” Gelagotis said.
“In his last prep he had two wins in a row and he ran second to Double You Tee. I then put him away because I thought he’s a serious horse and has got the pedigree to boot, being a full-brother to Lucia Valentina.
“He had shown me some serious upside as a youngster, albeit when he was a colt. He came back as a gelding and he really settled down.”
While he has had plenty of time for the promising four-year-old, Gelagotis admitted to being dejected by his poor performances earlier this preparation.
“For some unknown reason, for four or five runs in a row this prep, he has just gone off with the fairies,” he said. “I don’t know what I was doing wrong, I tried everything.
“I resorted to being really conservative with him and that seemed to work really well at Bendigo (last start) and he got the job done.
“Today he really showed his true colours and is starting to live up to the horse that I believe he is.”
Blandford Lad has been up for some time and Gelgaotis is contemplating giving the gelding a quick freshen-up before targeting some spring spoils.
“He is deep into his prep, but those first four or five runs he was going nowhere,” he said. “There was no energy expenditure at all and in his last two runs he has really tried.
“We will let the dust settle and we will lap up the win. We are back on track and even if we give him a little freshen-up he might be a spring contender.”
Blandford Lad was bred by Graham and Helen-Gaye Bax, of Blandford Lodge, who remain in the ownership.
