Caulfield Cup winning jockey Vlad Duric will be back in action at Caulfield on Wednesday after recovering from a thumb injury.
Vlad Duric steers Driefontein to a Group 1 win in the Sportingbet Classic at Morphettville. Photo by Jenny Barnes.
Duric, who won the 2007 Group 1 $2.5m Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on Master O‘Reilly, hasn’t ridden since May and is keen to get back into the saddle.
“I’ve had itchy feet for a week or so but I picked this as the day to come back so I’m just looking forward to getting back to the races and hopefully building up a bit of form,” Duric told AAP.
Duric has four rides, all at 58kgs and above but is confident that he will get back down to the minimum riding weight of 54kg in the coming weeks.
“Saturday I will ride 56 kilos and up, and I’ve got a goal to try to be back down riding the minimum in two weeks,” Duric said.
“It’s a little bit difficult at this time of year with the cold weather, but it will come off with a bit of extra race riding.”
Duric is hoping for a quick return to the winner’s stall and is giving his first ride back, the Mick Kent trained Aristarchus a good chance of saluting in the second race of the day, the Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa Plate for the maiden gallopers over 1200m.
“I think Mick Kent’s horse in the maiden is probably the pick of them,” Duric said.
His other rides are first starter Just For Starters for Robbie Laing in the The Grand Hotel Frankston Handicap (1000m) for the two year olds, Zellindi for Shea Eden in the Sportingbet Best Tote Plus 5% Handicap (1000m) and Gavin Murphy trained Evie Rose in the Le Pine Funerals Handicap (1600m).
Duric was riding in fine form before his enforced time off and teamed up with Gai Waterhouse for a winning double on Driefontein zt Morphettville during the Adelaide Autumn Carnival.
Driefontein was able finish strongly to beat Platelet in the Group 3 $115,000 R N Irwin Stakes (1100m) on April 12 and followed that up with an all the way win in the Group 1 $400,000 Sportingbet Classic (Registered as Robert Sangster Stakes) (1200m) on April 26.
Duric has ridden twenty-nine Melbourne metropolitan winners this season and is currently in sixth position on the jockey’s premiership behind Damien Oliver who leads the way on fifty-nine wins.
