Generalife And Knoydart Find The Right Race

Time/Date - 17.20hrs local time/Saturday, October 31, 2015
Racecourse/Country - Flemington/Australia
Surface/Distance - Turf/1200m

A careful piece of planning gives the durable pair Generalife and Knoydart the chance to collect a valuable stakes victory in the G2 tab.com.au Stakes at Flemington on Saturday, October 31.

Two of the most honest and consistent older sprinters in training, Generalife and Knoydart have found the major G1 events just beyond them during their previous preparations.

But both horses have run well in preparation for Saturday's race.

Knoydart (John O'Shea/Opie Bosson) showed how close he was to the best when third to the brilliant Chautauqua in G2 company over the Flemington 1200m on October 10.

"That was a very good run, very honest and he wasn't far from the winner," O'Shea said.

"If he could run like that again he'd be right in this, and there's no reason why he won't be.

"This looks like the right race for both horses and I'm expecting them to be right in the mix."

During his winter campaign in Brisbane, Knoydart produced similar efforts at the highest level when second to Hot Snitzel in the G1 BTC Cup and fourth in the G1 Stradbroke Handicap behind Boban.

Generalife (John O'Shea/James McDonald) followed a similar path in Brisbane during the winter and also confirmed his good form with a first up sixth to Terravista in the G2 Premiere Stakes at Randwick earlier this month.

"He's in great form, he thrived during his break and he's shown us that he's held his form well," O'Shea said.

Generalife filled placings in the Brisbane Group One sprint double of the Doomben 10,000 and the Stradbroke Handicap, both at 1350m with efforts that typified his approach to racing.

"He isn't far from the best of them and he's very honest and very tough," O'Shea said.

The six-year-old son of Lonhro has raced well since winning at his second start as a two-year-old.

He has since won another eight races from 31 starts overall.