Single To Resume At Rosehill
- Wednesday, 30 November 2011 06:16
An interstate trip during the winter could prove to be the making of promising gelding Single who resumes at Rosehill on Saturday.
The four-year-old will step out in the Blackwoods Macnaught Hcp (1500m), his first start since finishing midfield in the Queensland Derby won by Shootoff.
His Derby run came at the end of his first racing campaign and trainer Craig Carmody said while the result wasn't what they had hoped for, the trip away from Sydney was worthwhile.
"Probably looking at the Derby now, he was just on that little bit of a slide," Carmody said.
"But I'm glad we went. It was all good experience for the horse.
"It certainly helped him to grow up a bit.
"He was in a bit of a rush last time but he seems more settled now."
Single, by So You Think's sire High Chaparral, has started just five times.
He won over 1400m on debut at Newcastle in April and progressed to a city victory over 1500m two runs later.
Stepped up in distance, Single was ninth to Yulalona over 2000m on a heavy track at Randwick in May before his even effort in the Queensland Derby (2400m).
Carmody admits the jury is out on whether Single stays and he is keeping an open mind about the four-year-old's ideal distance range.
"I haven't set that in stone, I've got no firm opinion on it yet," he said.
"He seems pretty comfortable around a mile so we'll just see how he does and go from there."
Single has prepared for his return with two barrier trials, the most recent a 4-3/4 length win.
He won on debut last time in and Carmody said he was forward enough to be competitive on Saturday.
A former top jockey, Carmody is best known as the regular partner of the outstanding Intergaze.
He trains a small team of half a dozen at Randwick and while the hours are long, Carmody is relishing the challenge.
"It's nice to have a horse like him (Single) and hopefully there are one or two coming up that go all right," Carmody said.
"I ride all my own work so I'm very hands-on.
"It's a lot of hard work but I'm enjoying it."
