Ray Hickson
The drier the Rosehill surface is today, the harder to beat promising three-year-old Compensation will be.
That’s the simple assessment of Bjorn Baker’s racing manager Luke Hilton as the gelding looks to notch his first win in the Agency Real Estate Handicap (1100m).
Compensation started odds-on at his debut at Warwick Farm last month and Hilton said the stable had its collective fingers crossed that the soft 7 conditions wouldn’t bring him undone.
As it turned out, he was involved in a battle up front with Metallic Cat, twice a winner since, and couldn’t sustain it in ground jockey Rachel King confirmed he’s not overly comfortable with.
“It was a good effort, the track played against him,” Hilton said. “We haven’t had many Written Tycoons that get through a softish track, he just didn’t stretch out and let down like he had in his trials and at home.
“Rach said in his trials he’s a fast horse and he really gets low and stretches right out, and he didn’t feel like that on the wetter surface.
“We thought about running at Gosford because of a dry track, but we’ve waited for the 1100m at Rosehill, rail out, all looks well – we just want a good enough surface.”
It wasn’t until late August that Compensation had his first trial after missing his entire two-year-old season.
Hilton said there were no major issues that delayed his racing career but now he’s up and running the camp would like to make up for that lost time.
“He’s impressive at home, he’s taken a while and the owners have been patient with him,” he said. “Hopefully they will reap the benefits. I think he’s a horse that’s going to be able to stretch out a bit further in time.
“I don’t think he’s a one-trick pony and if he gets the right circumstances he will run well.”
A first-up win isn’t expected from Point And Shoot in the Kia Ora Bloodlines To Headlines Handicap (1100m) but Hilton said it’s an important starting point for the talented but enigmatic galloper.
“We’ve been really pleased with his trials and his mindset has been great,” he said.
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