Gear change for Blitzburg in G3 Canonbury Stakes
Trainers Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou are hoping the addition of winkers will help Snitzel colt Blitzburg bounce back to winning form after an unsuccessful Magic Millions campaign.
Originally named as the second emergency for the $3 million Magic Millions Classic, Blitzburg’s connections ultimately had to withdraw him due to a setback.
“He was an emergency at the Gold Coast and we scratched him. He scoped with a bit of trace mucus up there,” co-trainer Sterling Alexiou explained. “He has come back well and we have been happy with him at home since.”
Blitzburg, who has three race starts under his belt, will be the most seasoned runner in the Group 3 Canonbury Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill this Saturday. He will face a six-horse field, including Chris Waller’s promising duo Fermoy and Tropic.
The colt scored a debut win at Newcastle, then finished fifth to eventual Magic Millions Classic winner O’Ole in the Wyong lead-up, beaten just two lengths, before running third at Eagle Farm in December.
Alexiou believes only a minor improvement is needed for Blitzburg to be a strong contender this weekend.
“He seems to be in a really good frame of mind and the winkers seem to have really switched him on in his work,” he said.
“He hasn’t been far away. He ran quite well in that Wyong Magic Millions lead-up, and that form has really stood up. If he can get back to somewhere near that, and with a little bit of improvement in the winkers, hopefully, he is right in amongst them.”
The Canonbury Stakes has proven to be an important form race in previous seasons, with Vancouver (2015) being the last horse to complete the Canonbury-Golden Slipper double.
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