Two horses proven on heavy ground will headline John Thompson’s team for Randwick.
His campaign got off to a bumpy start but with two solid runs under his belt and the certainty of a rain-affected track, Jojo Was A Man is expected to show marked improvement at Randwick.
After being forced to pull the pin on the horse’s summer preparation due to injury, trainer John Thompson again had his plans thwarted when JoJo Was A Man’s scheduled return race was washed out.
It put horse and trainer on the back foot, a situation compounded by the gelding’s wide draw when he belatedly resumed in the Hawkesbury Cup (1600m) in May.
“It meant he had to go to the Hawkesbury Cup first-up at a mile,” Thompson said.
“He had a tough run there from a wide draw which just took the edge off him second-up for the Scone Cup.
“But coming back to Randwick, home track, he likes the wet, Chad (Schofield) has been galloping him here and he’s going well.
“I think you’ll see an improved run.”
JoJo Was A Man travelled just behind the speed in the Scone Cup (1600m) and while he finished midfield, he was only three lengths behind the winner Sky Lab.
A horse who historically improves deeper into his campaign, the six-year-old is expected to strip much fitter for his third-up run in Saturdays Racing And Sports Handicap (1600m).
“If you look at his form, the third, fourth, fifth runs in his preps have usually been his best runs,” Thompson said.
“He has won first-up before but in lesser grade. He is a big, gross horse so a couple of runs does him the world of good.”
Thompson also has high hopes for stablemate With Your Blessing, who will take his place in the Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m) after an encouraging return behind Opal Ridge in the Ortensia Stakes (1100m) at Scone.
The last time he raced on heavy ground he was a dominant winner at The Gong meeting at Kembla Grange and he has placed three times in five second-up runs.
“His best win was at Kembla on a heavy track so I’d say it will enhance his chances,” Thompson said.
“He will be running well, he just needs a bit of luck from the draw (barrier 13) and hopefully the track is playing in our favour.
“We will see how he goes obviously, but he seems to be going well enough to attack these winter sprints.”
Thompson has also accepted with Pure Hydrogen and Our Uptown Girl Randwick but is unsure how the pair will handle the heavy conditions.
