Raffaello will recommence his career this Saturday under new trainer Patrick Ryan should a beach gallop go well tomorrow.
If Raffaello proves to his new trainer he is up to scratch, the six-year-old will start in the Straight Six at Flemington Racecourse this weekend.
Ryan does not believe Raffaello will be at his peak fitness when he resumes in the race after an eight month spell.
“He’s done a lot of three-quarter and evens work but no let-down gallops so he’s going to go in with only one solid gallop under his belt,” Ryan said.
Despite the fact Raffaello is lacking in form, Ryan is hoping to run him due to the track conditions.
“But it might be the last dead four or dead five track that we get for a while and he’s a duffer in the wet.”
The entire, who has won nine of his 44 race starts, was previously trained by both Jim Marconi and Mark Kavanagh.
His new trainer is happy to have the opportunity to nurture Raffaello back to his best.
“He’s a lovely horse,” Ryan said.
“He’s the best-actioned animal I’ve ever sat on.
“Just a beautifully balanced, economical and fluent action.”
Ryan is looking at giving Raffaello a couple more runs during the winter in preparation for a spring carnival campaign.
“We’re going to look at some races in the spring even if they turn out to be the lesser ones, but we want to give him one or two runs over the winter so that he doesn’t get too rusty.”