Caulfield win puts Highvol back on victory trail
Nick Ryan, the trainer, may eye a Queensland venture for Highvol after the gelding notched a triumphant return at Caulfield.
The gelding Highvol hadn't tasted success since his opening two triumphs as a juvenile until he captured the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap (1600m) on Saturday.
Jamie Mott kept Highvol ($16) prominent at the front end all the way, lunging to a head victory on the line ahead of Tarntanya ($18) and Himalayan ($5.50) in third.
As a two-year-old, Highvol secured the Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) at Flemington, prompting Ryan to schedule a Brisbane winter push for the horse.
Sadly, illness struck Highvol, scuttling those northern plans, so Ryan shifted to a spring schedule.
Securing a fast-closing fourth in the Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley, Ryan aimed the three-year-old at the Victoria Derby next.
"He had a frustrating spring," Ryan said.
"He ran super in the Stutt second-up, flying home, against these types of horses.
"He then almost won a Geelong Classic, and we pushed on to the Derby, but it flattened him a lot and I was very mindful of that and hence we didn't rush him back for the autumn.
"I went and looked at him and said to the owners to give him some more time because he was quite tired after the Derby.
"He was second-up today. They went very slow last time, and he's no good off a slow tempo, and when they sprinted, they left him flat-footed."
Post his Sandown first-up performance last month, Ryan explained ramping up the workload for Highvol to handle the solid 1600m test.
"I said to Motty that I had screwed him down between runs and he's at his best free rolling off a fast tempo and that's what that was," Ryan said.
"It was a bit of a dogfight late and he's good in the soft, so there was a lot of positives.
"He's a handy horse and he won his first two and we had plans to go to Queensland, but he got crook.
"He ticks the wet-track box, and he makes his own luck, so a trip to Queensland, anything is possible."
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