Darryn and Briar Weatherley are hoping a quick back-up into Saturday’s Gr.3 Tattersall’s Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm might bring a change of fortunes for Dark Destroyer.
The winner of five races and more than $640,000 in stakes, headed by the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) in the spring of 2022, Dark Destroyer struggled to find his best form in a 10-race preparation as a five-year-old last season.
He showed promising signs last month with a second placing in the Listed Rotorua Cup (2200m), earning a trip across the Tasman alongside his high-class stablemate Pier.
Dark Destroyer’s two appearances in Queensland have produced a 12th in the Gr.3 Premier’s Cup (1400m) and a 10th in last Saturday’s Listed Ipswich Cup (2150m), but Darryn Weatherley believes those results paint an incomplete picture of the Proisir gelding’s performances.
“I thought his Ipswich run was a bit better than it might look on paper,” he said. “He jumped okay, but then got squeezed back through the field and ended up a lot further back than we were anticipating.
“You can only follow the horse that you’re following, and unfortunately the horse in front of him stopped at the corner. It’s a tight track at Ipswich with quite a sharp turn into the straight. He was stopped in his tracks when that horse came back into his lap. He’s not a sit-sprint type of horse, he needs to be up and rolling. He actually ran through the line pretty well, but he’d lost his chance at the turn.
“We’re training him on the track there at Eagle Farm, and he’s pleased us with how he’s come through last weekend. This race presented itself, right on his doorstep and over 2400m. We thought it was well worth giving him a shot.
“The track’s a Soft6 at the moment, which is probably okay for him. His first run over here, the ground was just too testing. He’s got that bit more race fitness under his belt now.”
The Tattersall’s Cup initially drew a field of 10, but it has been reduced to seven by scratchings.
“It’s going to be an interesting race with quite a small field,” Weatherley said. “We’ve got Mark Du Plessis in the saddle.
“These days he seems to prefer being out in the open and rolling along, so we’ll try to ride him forward. Hopefully, if he can roll along in front where he’s comfortable, we might see him put his best foot forward.”