Ciaron Maher is aiming for his first Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m) victory on Saturday with the in-form Future History.
A Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) runner last spring, Future History has shown his best form this spring over shorter distances.
After being narrowly beaten in the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m), he claimed victory in the Group 3 JRA Cup (2000m) and most recently finished a courageous fourth in last month’s Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) behind Via Sistina.
It was that performance in the Champions Stakes that gives Maher confidence that the seven-year-old is the right horse to land the Ballarat feature.
“He ran a personal best last start and he trialled really well,” Maher told Racing.com.
“He’s been in consistent form all prep and probably that was a peak run last start. It was a little bit of a throw at the stumps, and he came up very well.”
Maher now views the 2000-metre distance as a more suitable range for Future History than the longer distances he had previously contested, as evidenced by his 13th in the Group 1 Metropolitan (2400m) in October, which remains his only finish outside the top four this campaign.
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