Deck more than above average
Story By Jason Hickson
Wednesday, 16 August 2006: With Australian weight-for-age racing in a transition phase before a new star is unearthed, Conlon is confident Above Deck can continue on his excellent autumn and winter form to the toughest carnival in the country.
Above Deck made the transition from a handy galloper to winning weight-for-age features last campaign but will be tested against the cream of the crop this time in.
Last campaign his good form began with a dominant Albury Cup win, before finishing runner-up in the Listed Manion Cup at Rosehill and a win in the JRA Plate at Randwick.
His first serious weight-for-age test came in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes when fifth behind Eremein.
Conlon believes, though, the effort was better than it looked under the circumstances.
“He went into the Queen Elizabeth backing up from winning on the Monday before and was only beaten a couple of lengths behind Eremein, who is rated the next big thing,” Conlon said.
“By the time he went to Queensland and with his runs a bit more spaced he had improved another couple of lengths.”
Above Deck went on with it over the Queensland winter carnival, scoring soft wins in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes on the Gold Coast and his first Group 1 success in the Doomben Cup – both under weight-for-age conditions.
“He’s probably a bit underrated still but I rate him right up there,” Conlon said.
“It’s impossible to say that he’s improved further during his spell but he looks terrific and is going along very well.
“He’ll be aimed at the Cox Plate this campaign and will take a traditional path through races such as the Craiglee Stakes, Turnbull or Underwood Stakes before the Cox Plate.
“He’s also entered for the Caulfield Cup but I’ll weigh up that option as it gets closer."
Conlon took the five-year-old to Caulfield on Tuesday for a gallop and was thrilled with his work on a track he described as perfect.
Although he doesn’t expect him to feature in Saturday’s Group 2 Liston Stakes (1400m) at the same track, he does believe he will be hitting the line hard.
“Realistically he’s not a winning chance this weekend,” Conlon said. “I’d be pleasantly surprised if he were in the finish but I would think he would be running on at the finish.
“He’ll be at his best when he gets to 2000m and on his form last campaign I believe he can measure up to the better races in the spring.
"The one chink in his armour is rain – he loses lengths on a wet track.”
If the spring is anything like the dry winter just gone, Conlon has nothing to worry about.
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