Wet Morphettville to suit Dundruff

Dandruff is a horse that is lucky to be alive, let alone winning races.

A sinus infection as a young horse and then operations to rectify the problem has allowed Dandruff to make it to the racecourse, where he is now a four-time winner from 21 starts.

Dandruff will look to add to that record when he runs in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Handicap (2400m) at Morphettville Parks on Saturday.

“He had a couple of sinus operations as a younger horse and that is why he didn’t make it to the race until he was nearly five,” trainer Toby Lake explained.

“It got infected, then he had a bone infection in his face. He’s got a big indent in his head where he had a bone taken out and he’s only got one sinus now.

“One of his tear ducts doesn’t work, so his eye runs all the time.

“He takes a bit of maintenance, but he’s a bit of a favourite around the country circuit and it would be a great story if he could get the job done.”

Dandruff is coming off a last start win at Albury where he lugged 63kg to victory on heavy ground.

Lake said he had considered taking Dundruff to Swan Hill for the three-day Carnival, but with rain forecast in Adelaide, it forced his hand.

“This year has been a shocking year for the farmers, and we’re thinking of them at the moment with no rain, and it hasn’t been good for anyone who has been looking for a wet track with their horses,” Lake said.

“He’s a horse that appreciates getting his toe into the ground and we were waiting and waiting, checking the forecast every week, and we knew Albury was going to be wet, so we threw him in up there and he got the job done.

“Originally, we were going to run him at Swan Hill over the weekend at Carnival as he seems to go well there on the big track, but Adelaide is due to 25 or 30 mils of rain over the next couple of days.”

Dundruff jumps from a benchmark 58 grade race at Albury to 78 grade on Saturday, but Lake said it was not the toughest of contests.

“I know it’s a 78, but it’s probably more like a 70,” Lake said.

“The top-rated horse is 72, then there’s one that is a 70 rater and then there’s us at 66.

“He won with 63 kilos the other day, he drops down to 54-½ kilos after the claim on Saturday and is nearly on the minimum.

“He’ll stay the trip and has won at a mile-and-a-half before and with respect to the other runners in the race, it’s not an overly strong Saturday race.”