Veteran Cranbourne trainer Robert “Jimmy” Redenbach has thrown Whatever I Say in the deep end on Saturday night at The Meadows, where the promising young stayer will face G1 Sandown Cup hero Zipping Rambo in the 725m Special Event – Race 9 at 9.12pm.
The winner of six of her 15 starts, Whatever I Say is chasing her first ‘700’ victory at her fourth attempt, with TAB marking her at $10 in a market dominated by $1.80 favourite Hank The Hustler and Zipping Rambo at $2.20.
“She’ll still learning,” said 72-year-old Redenbach.
“She’s only young but she’s going alright and I think as she progresses she’s going to be a stayer.”
Whatever I Say has had three 715m starts at Sandown Park, with recent placings behind two of Saturday’s rivals in Star Blazer and Hank The Hustler, beaten less than a length on both occasions.
In her third to Hank The Hustler, Zipping Rambo ran second.
Prior to that, Whatever I Say finished seventh to another high profile Victorian stayer in Five Star in the Pink Diamond Champion Distance final (660m) at Bendigo.
Redenbach knows a thing or two about conditioning a stayer, having guided multiple Group winner Shimaguni, the grandmother of modern day superstar Shima Shine, throughout much of her career and he’s prepared to play the long game with Whatever I Say.
WATCH: Whatever I Say (2) takes out a Pink Diamond Champion Distance heat at Ballarat.
“She could beat them on Saturday, but I don’t want to go overboard,” Redenbach said.
“It might be a bit tough for her at this stage but it will be interesting to see how she goes.
“She was only half a length behind Zipping Rambo at Sandown a couple of weeks ago.
“When she got in the field over ‘500’ and got crowded she didn’t like it at all so I thought the best thing for the dog was to step her up to see if she could run a journey.
“I’ve been training dogs for a hundred years and it’s all about doing what’s best for the animal and in my eyes it’s the right thing to do with her.
“Putting her over a journey will build her confidence, similar to when I took Riccarton Rick coursing to get his confidence up. It’s all about perseverance.”
Redenbach only has three dogs in work these days but certainly hasn’t lost his expert touch or competitive edge.
“I’ve got three dogs racing and a pet Shadale (8-time Group finalist) and they keep me going,” Redenbach said.
“My other two race dogs are Riccarton Rick (G3 Easter Gift finalist) and Cooolant, which has won 10 from 17 and won well at Healesville last Sunday (16.61sec BOD).”
