Tokyo Run will start the Gr.1 VRC Derby (2500m) as a 250-1 rank outsider, but country trainer Dean Mirfin says the son of Staphanos won’t look out of place as the field heads to the barriers.
According to Mirfin, the gelding’s most recent run, where he tired from the front in the Gr.3 Caulfield Classic (2000m), was not as poor as it may appear in the form guides.
“They’ve walked along in front and then they’ve run a very fast last 600m and this horse does not have the turn of foot to do that,” he said.
“We’re hoping that the turn of foot those horses have over 2000m is somewhat lessened once they’ve run 2500m and we think this horse will be a grinding type that will keep going to some extent.
“We were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt that day and Opie Bosson came back and said he didn’t think the horse would have any trouble getting a longer trip.
“If you looked at the race just as a punter, you’d think he was stopping at the end of the trip, but we actually think he wants further.”
The underdog label suits Murfin just fine – it will be the stable’s first Group One runner in 12 years of operation, but the Bathurst conditioner is more worried about the process of getting to the race than any of the day’s fanfare.
“I’m just a bushie from New South Wales – they can draw a line through mine whereas those other trainers, they think they might be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat with those horses,” he said.
“To be honest, I just want the horse to be competitive and to run really well … things that make me nervous are the variables, like getting the horse down to Victoria safely.
“Once he’s actually racing, I’m not nervous about the race itself – to be honest, I’d much rather be sitting on a bucket in a dusty old racetrack rather than surrounded by thousands of people at Flemington.
“But it is what it is and I’ll enjoy the experience.”
Tokyo Run will jump from barrier eight on Saturday, with the in-form Declan Bates booked to ride.
