Change of plans for Bolt For Brilliance

By Michael Guerin

Trainer Tony Herlihy isn’t expecting one missed race this week to affect Bolt For Brilliance’s Dominion campaign during Cup week.

The Rowe Cup winner was scheduled to race at Alexandra Park this Friday night but will bypass the meeting as he was handed a 55m backmark over 2200m.

“I didn’t want to start him off that far back and give him a gutbuster before his trip,” said Herlihy.

“It was also a large field which would have made it even more difficult.”

Herlihy says he is happy with how Bolt For Brilliance came through his fresh up win two weeks ago over a subsequent easy Cambridge winner in Sacred Mountain.

“He was quite on the job that night and his work has been good since.

“I will take him across to Stonewall (across the road from Herlihy’s property) for a hit out later this week and I find a good workout there is almost as good as a race and I can go the speed I want.

“So I don’t think missing this week will set him back.”

Bolt For Brilliance will head to Kaikoura late next week for the South Bay Trotters Cup on October 31, the $30,000 Group 3 in which he will face the maximum back mark of 15m.

That will be his last run before the Dominion at Addington 11 days later, the iconic trot for which Bolt For Brilliane is the TAB’s $2.70 favourite for the Dominion, inside two-time defending champion Sundees Son at $2.90 and last Friday’s stunning Addington winner Muscle Mountain.