Matt Dale concedes he didn’t get the barrier he was hoping for with Front Page ahead of Saturday’s $5 million The Quokka (1200m) at Ascot, but he still believes the proven sprinter is capable of finishing in the top three.
Front Page, who has made the trip west alongside fellow NSW-trained contenders Overpass and Headwall, will jump from barrier 11 in the third running of the slot race.
It wasn’t so much the wide draw that frustrated Dale, but the fact that race favourite Overpass drew directly inside in gate ten.
“Ideally I wanted to draw inside Overpass,” Dale told Racing.com.
“Overpass wouldn’t cross Front Page, but Front Page is probably unlikely to cross Overpass, so I thought that drawing inside Overpass would be ideal no matter where that was.
“But that wasn’t to be, so it’s plan B, which I haven’t finalised—how aggressive we’ll ride him or what not just yet.”
Despite that, Dale remains confident in his gelding’s natural ability to take up a position and be in the finish.
“He’s a high-cruising-speed, rolling horse. That’s what he does, so he’ll be right up there.”
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