Trainer Mitch Freedman and jockey Ben Melham both believe the addition of blinkers have made a difference for Living The Dream who has made it back-to-back city wins.
Living The Dream ($4) wound up after getting a split late in Saturday’s Christmas Giving Tree Plate (1720m) at Flemington under jockey Ben Melham and capitalised to win the benchmark 70 race for three and four-year-olds by a long neck over a luckless Dogmatic.
Imperial Dawn fought on for a close third in a bunched finish.
Living The Dream has won a benchmark-64 at The Valley and Saturday’s Flemington race since blinkers have been applied, taking his record to three wins and four placings from nine starts.
“I think he’s starting to run to his true potential now with the blinkers on,” Melham said.
“He’s progressive. He’s put a couple together now in town and I think he’ll continue to improve.”
Freedman will consider his options with the four-year-old after Saturday’s win, with ratings races or the Listed Lord Stakes among possibilities in the coming weeks.
“We can follow the rating races now or we can really have a throw at the stumps. We’ll just see how he pulls up and what happens and what Benny thinks,” Freedman said.
“He’s always been a nice enough horse but the blinkers have improved him a lot.
“He’s been lightly raced and lightly tried and he’s starting to put it together now.”
Living The Dream gave Ballarat-based Freedman his seventh city win of the season in Melbourne.
