Fluent Furioso sets fast pace in test gallop
Furioso looked in tip-top condition in a fluent grass-testing gallop prior to racing yesterday morning.
The Ricky Yiu-trained youngster was one of the early-season trackwork stars and only went down to Swifty-Swifty by a short head during this period. But he then went off the boil and disappointed on two runs back from a spell before running a close second to Cash Fortune over a mile at Happy Valley last time. Yesterday he worked with his promising stablemate Multi-Star, who is himself a nice horse in the making and an almost certain future winner over farther than a mile. Furioso led the work under the accomplished Patrick Payne, with Multi-Star and the British rider Alan Munro taking a slight sit on his heels.
Turning for home the pace quickened appreciably, with Munro bringing Multi-Star upsides, but it was Furioso, on the inside, who looked to be going marginally the better of the pair as they swept past the winning post in one minute 21.7 for their 1,200-metre hitout, with a final quarter in 23.8 seconds.
Lawrie Fownes' stable continues to go great guns, with his son Caspar relishing his role and the boss down in Sydney searching for new stock.
They had the big winner, En Rapport, in yesterday's Centurion Trophy, and earlier their Winningcombination had worked as fluently as ever.
Winningcombination was unlucky last time out when blocked for room virtually the whole way behind Lyphard's Lad.
The Fownes' useful griffin winner, Inventor, looked to be on very good terms with himself yesterday morning.
