Trainer expects ‘very competitive’ run from Attrition at Northerly Stakes

With the Group 1 Northerly Stakes coming up on Saturday, Ballarat-based trainer Mitchell Freedman spoke to the media this week about the $1,500,000 race and Attrition’s chances.

The son of Churchill and Queen’s Kiss is the current betting sites favourite to win the Northerly Stakes with $6 chances.

Freedman did not outright say that Attrition would win. However, he thinks the Group 1 winner has everything it takes to be “very competitive” at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday.

Star settled in well

One of the reasons Attrition is so favoured by the betting apps is that he travels very well compared to other top gallopers. The gelding has been in Perth for a month, and, according to Freedman, things are going perfectly to plan.

“He hasn’t missed any feed over there and he’s settled in really well,” he said.

“He just seems to have thrived on the travel the whole prep. He’s done a few trips now, but it doesn’t seem to have affected him.”

Attrition has been able to adapt to life in Perth without the pressure of competitive races. His race was the Listed Five Diamonds at Rosehill on November 9.

Freeman downplays trials

While Attrition has been rested for a few weeks, he has not been completely out of action. The gelding completed a trial run at Belmont on November 25. He finished fourth of four racers in the 1000m jump out.

Despite the poor run, Freedman was not disappointed by the result. He says the run does not have him worried about how Attrition will do on Saturday.

“It was in a fast horse’s jump-out and he was actually very good, albeit (he was) beaten a few lengths by what some people would consider below his standard of ability,” Freedman said.

“Ripcord (who won the trial) is no slouch, and he (Attrition) is a horse that is looking for 1800 or 2000 metres.

“He has got the freshness out of his legs, but his sectionals were very good and the way he came through it, it was the right thing for us to do getting over there and having a month between runs.”

Attrition will run in one more trial run on Tuesday ahead of the Northerly Stakes.

Trainer expects “very competitive” run

Attrition has raced just twice in the last two months. He won the Group 2 Hill Stakes at Rosehill on October 12 before finishing fourth in the Five Diamonds in November.

Of those two results, Freedman says the Hill Stakes was a better show of what Attrition can do. He added that he felt Attrition was actually unlucky to do so poorly in the Five Diamonds.

“You would expect if he brings those two Sydney runs, the form he was in up there, it should have him very competitive in the Northerly,” Freedman said.

Attrition is the horse racing betting favourite with $6 odds to win. Ciaron Maher’s Light Infantry Man and Grant and Alana Williams’ Storyville are joint-second favourites at $7.