Supply And Demand faces weighty challenge

Supply And Demand’s disastrous trip to Perth doesn’t weigh heavily on Josh Parr’s mind, but the gelding’s handicap for the Maroubra Mile at Randwick is a concern.

The consistent five-year-old has to carry 61kg at Randwick on Saturday and his jockey is mindful of Supply And Demand has not yet won with more than 58.5kg on his back.

“Carrying that weight is definitely a task, and the only negative I can find,” Parr said.

“He’s earned that sort of weight now and it’s unfortunate because he’s only a little horse.

“He surprises a lot of people when they see him for the first time in the flesh because he looks like such a big, nice striding horse on TV.”

Supply And Demand gives race favourite Dreamforce a 10kg advantage while his closest weighted rival is the Chris Waller-trained Japonisme who will carry 57.5kg after Lee Magorrian’s two kilogram claim.

Despite that disadvantage Parr believes the versatile Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained gelding has earned his standing.

Supply And Demand has seven wins and nine minor placings from 21 starts for prize money of $580,835.

“I think we all scratch our heads at times about certain horse’s benchmarks but if there’s a horse out there that deserves a high handicap, it’s probably him because he continually competes well,” Parr said.

Supply And Demand suffered his biggest setback in the Group One Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot in November when he finished a distance last.

But Parr put a line through that run.

“He got galloped on by Black Heart Bart at the 500 and it was game over from there,” he said.

Parr was pleasantly surprised when Supply And Demand bounced back with a third over 1400m at Warwick Farm on December 23.

“I wasn’t sure how he was going to come through Perth but to the stable’s credit they’ve done a fine job in getting him back in really good order,” he said.

Bott said Supply And Demand had put the difficult interstate trip behind him.

“He’s been ticking over beautifully and his last start showed he took no harm from that trip over to Perth,” he said.

“He’s going to be forced to carry some weight in these handicaps until we can step him into some better class races when the carnival rolls round.”