From Gary Portelli
Thur 21st Nov, 2024
Horse: Encap
Message: (Saturday, Kembla Grange Race 8, The Gong) Encap finished outside of the placings in 11th in the Golden Eagle at Rosehill on November 2, and the excuses at the time have been cleared up since. He had the issue with his foot prior to the day and we had a bit of a stewards situation but they passed him fit on the day. That was good, but watching the race later I think he was holding back on the hard ground. He had a bit of bruise on his heel and I think we’ll see a lot of improvement this week. His foot is fine now. He was just holding back that bit when we were on the way when we raced him, but he is good now. Next start, he’s got that run under his belt, plenty of work since then and he’ll be ready to go.
From Joseph Pride
Thur 21th Nov, 2024
Horse: Lekvarte
Message: (Saturday, Kembla Grange Race 8, The Gong) Lekvarte was a brilliant winner of the Angst Stakes (1600m) at Randwick two starts ago and was far from disgraced when 6th to Atishu in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington at her most recent appearance. It was probably a bit strong for her to be fair, that Group One standard. She has just never raced as well when I have travelled her for some reason. She likes Sydney. To me, she always runs a length or so off what she is capable of when she’s away. I’ve had horses like that in the past, so hopefully Kembla should suit her.
Horse: King Of The Castle
Message: (Saturday, Kembla Grange Race 8, The Gong) King Of The Castle lumped 62.5kg to victory in a 1500m benchmark race last start. It was good to see him back in the winner’s circle and he’s going well. He will drop a fair bit in weight for his next start, which is nice.
