HE'S everyone's favourite wet track warrior, but Gentleman Max's new trainer is confident the old stager can finally win if it's dry for Sunday's Cootamundra Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 1600m feature will be the eight-year-old's 126th career start, and all 16 of his wins have come on heavy or soft tracks.
Gentleman Max joined Canberra-based Dryden's stable after Wagga trainer Trevor Sutherland was suspended for three years by NSW racing stewards.
His first two starts for Dryden have been promising, following up a third on a soft surface at a mid-week Canterbury meeting on September 9 with a solid sixth on a Good4 track at the same venue a fortnight later.
"I thought he went really well, he ran third first up and then sixth in a really strong race, a lot stronger than the first one," Dryden said.
"His work indicates he could (win on a dry track), there's nothing wrong with his work.
"Whether he can get over the dry track or not (is the question), but I think in Sydney the other day they ran four class records and it wasn't a wet track, he seemed to handle that alright."
Gentleman Max has tried to win the Cootamundra Cup three times, with his best effort thus far a fourth on a dry track last year.
Theresa Bateup has also entered Old Man's Angel, who is coming off a strong win at Goulburn three weeks ago, after he finished runner-up to Andrew Dale's Parliament in last year's edition.
Dryden said he will take a more conservative approach to Gentleman Max's preparation than Sutherland.
"I don't work my horses very hard, different trainers have different methods and he put more work into them than I did. It's just trying to keep him happy and he seems to be thriving on a lighter workload."
Meanwhile a meeting will be held at Wagga on Saturday, with the highlight a barrier trial following the six-race card featuring the likes of Kosciuszko second favourite Front Page, Blitzar, Spunlago and Yousay Bolt.
READ MORE
