A rare stroke of fortune ahead of a big race has been gratefully accepted by trainer Mitchell Freedman as he prepares Attrition for the second leg of his two-part Sydney mission.
Having drawn closer to the outside than the inside at his past 10 starts, Attrition has landed barrier five for Saturday’s Five Diamonds (1800m) and in a field of 14 plus six emergencies, Freedman views it as significant.
“It’s not something we get very often, a good gate in a good race, so we’re happy to cop it,” Freedman quipped.
Having doubled his career prizemoney tally with his last start win in the Hill Stakes (1900m), the Victorian-trained Attrition is bidding to add to his haul in the $2 million Rosehill centrepiece.
The entire returned to his Ballarat base after that success and taking into account the impact of the travel, Freedman opted to give him almost a month between runs.
“He’s had a little jump-out at Camperdown between runs and a couple of solid pieces of work on the grass and he seems to be in great shape,” Freedman said.
“We decided to wait and give him the month between. He is actually a horse who races best with plenty of work in him and that’s why we have given him the trial.
“He’s got to handle the travel again and do everything right, but I think he is going really well. The Five Diamonds is going to be a more competitive race than the Hill Stakes so he will need to have improved a little bit.”
With regular rider Beau Mertens suspended, Ethan Brown will take over on Attrition, who is one of four Group 1 winners in the race along with Lindermann, Rediener and Major Beel.
Attrition claimed his major in last year’s Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield before a sequence of setbacks restricted him to just two more starts during the 2023-24 season.
“We had intended to come up for the Golden Eagle after he won the Toorak and he had a little setback where he curbed a hock,” Freedman said.
“He whacked his splint bone in the autumn, and we backed off and got it right. It was a combination of a number of things, we just had to give him time and be patient and it has been good to see him repay us for that.”
If Attrition performs in the Five Diamonds, Freedman has his sights on a possible trip to Perth for the Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) at Ascot in December.