Splintex puts autumn plans back on track

Splintex has bounced back from a Melbourne disappointment to lead all the way at Rosehill.

A midweek track gallop convinced trainer Mark Newnham to start Splintex at Rosehill and the horse has justified the decision with a blistering win.

A late entry for Saturday’s Spark Of Life Handicap (1100m) after flopping on a soft surface at Caulfield last start, Splintex ($7) made light of the heavy conditions, powering to a 3-1/4 length win over Deference ($4.60).

Willowheart ($4.60) did best of the rest another 1-1/2 lengths away with favourite Acumen weakening to finish last.

Splintex failed to handle the conditions at Caulfield, with the track deteriorating due to rain on the day, but Newnham said the wet surface at Rosehill was a different scenario.

He knew Splintex was ready to rebound from his Melbourne defeat when he turned in an outstanding trackwork gallop on Wednesday that had winning apprentice Robbie Dolan pushing for him to run.

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“”We pulled up and he (Dolan) said, ‘we are running him aren’t we?’ and I said, yeah, we’ll be running him mate,” Newnham said.

“He’s a really talented little sprinter.

“Melbourne, when you get those rainy conditions on the day it’s a completely different soft track to what this was today.”

Ridden aggressively out of the gates, Splintex made a one-act affair of the race and will now step up to Listed grade in the Fireball Stakes (1100m) at Randwick on March 7.

“He will probably go to the Fireball at Randwick and if he was able to sneak into a Galaxy over 1100 metres at Rosehill, he’s already shown today he can handle soft track so you never know where we might end up,” Newnham said.

The Group One Galaxy (1100m) is at Rosehill on March 21.