Trainer Cliff Brown is confident he has New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run sale graduate The Inferno (Holy Roman Emperor) back in peak order as he prepares for another tilt at an Australian Group One victory.
A former Singapore champion under Brown’s care, The Inferno has been successful once in his seven starts since the trainer returned to Melbourne last year and is set to line up in Gr.1 The Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville on Saturday.
The Inferno took out the Gr. 2 McEwen Stakes (1000m) at The Valley last September then followed up finishing a close second in the Gr. 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley.
A trip to Sydney for The Everest (1200m) was thwarted by a wet track after which The Inferno was spelled.
The Inferno resumed in the Gr. 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington in February, but that race ended in disaster with the sprinter lucky not to fall.
It resulted in Brown taking his time and The Inferno who did not reappear until the inaugural running of The Discovery (1100m) at Sale on Good Friday, where he finished seventh, before travelling to Adelaide last week to finish third in the Gr. 3 D C McKay Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville.
It was a run that showed Brown the gelding was back in form.
“He was good,” Brown said.
“He had that run at Sale and I said going into it, the one thing he lacked was match practise and he just takes that run.
“He seemed good the other day and he’ll improve further, and the 1200 metres suits him better, but he’s also taking a step up in grade.
“Behemoth was very good in that race and then you’ve got others entering the race like In The Boat and Extreme Warrior, all those horses.”
One thing Brown would like is a favourable barrier.
The Inferno drew out at Morphettville last time and Brown would like a middle gate on Saturday.
“I would like to see him ridden a length or two closer but we couldn’t the other day because of where we were drawn,” Brown said.
“Barriers kill you.”
