John O’Shea will have just one runner at Rosehill but he is hoping that will be all he needs to come away with a winner.
The Randwick horseman saddles up Cotehele (NZ) (Tavistock) in the Kerrie Borger Handicap (1400m) on Saturday and if the four-year-old performs to expectations, he could back-up in the A$500,000 The Coast (1600m) at Gosford seven days later.
“We’re thinking we’ll get through Saturday then I wouldn’t be averse to backing him up in The Coast,” O’Shea said.
“He should run a mile off his pedigree and it’s a pretty easy mile around Gosford.
“That race has traditionally been dominated by on-speed runners so it’s an option for us.”
A consistent performer throughout his career, Cotehele will tackle 1400m second-up on Saturday after battling on gamely to finish fourth behind the in-form Tamerlane on resumption at Randwick two weeks ago.
He will take natural improvement from the run and O’Shea is keen to get him back to Rosehill where he is yet to finish further back than second in two runs.
“First-up on testing he ground, he just got found out the last hundred,” O’Shea said.
“That run should bring him on a bit. He loves Rosehill and hopefully that can make a difference on Saturday.
“His work has been fantastic all preparation. He worked on Tuesday and worked brilliantly again, so he hasn’t gone backwards.”
Last start winner and dual acceptor Democracy Manifest (Flying Artie) is a $2.90 favourite for Saturday’s race with Cotehele at $9 in early markets.
Cotehele boasts a decision over the top fancy, beating him by almost two lengths when they last met at Rosehill in October, and he will also enjoy a three-kilo weight turnaround on his rival.
O’Shea has no doubt Cotehele is going well enough to repeat the result but says the key will be where both horses get to from their draws after coming up with gates nine (Cotehele) and seven (Democracy Manifest).
“Democracy Manifest has got a racing pattern that makes it difficult for him if he doesn’t draw well,” O’Shea said.
“My bloke makes his own luck a bit and the day we beat him at Rosehill, that was the scenario. We controlled the tempo, Democracy Manifest had to go back and the rest is history.”
