Group 1 winner Rebel Dane is set to be unleashed on Friday night in the William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley for trainer Gary Portelli.
Connections have been desperate to claim a Group 1 race at weight for age conditions with the 2013 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes winner and Portelli believes this is the right race to achieve that target.
“He’s been aimed at this race for a long time now and I’ll just be glad to see the gates open. It’s been a long time waiting,” Portelli told Racing.com’s Racing Ahead.
“We’ve just aimed up at the one race with him. It’s a Group 1 race and he’s a stallion, so it’s very important for him if we can get him over the line.”
The five-year-old has a good record at the track despite not winning. In his last three Group 1 races at the track he has been within a length of the winner on all three occasions, finishing behind Buffering twice and the all-conquering Lankan Rupee.
Portelli had the option of sending the runner to the TJ Smith but believes his runner might have struggled against the fitness of the quality of opposition, and the William Reid should suit his runner.
“I had the option of keeping him for the TJ Smith (at Randwick), but I just think there’s a few race-fit horses there that have just got the wood on us on the big track,” he said.
“Around the Valley we’ve been able to be very competitive with Lankan Rupee and Buffering and Terravista and those sort of horses at that level, but on the bigger track they’ve just got that little bit on us.
“We thought we’d go back to the Valley and hopefully miss those horses, which we have, but there’s still the likes of Angelic Light and Famous Seamus, genuine Group 1 type horses, so it’s not going to be a walk in the park for anyone.”
Rebel Dane won a trial at Warwick Farm on the 12th of March and had a solid gallop on Monday of which Portelli said should have him primed for success on Friday.
“He trialled well, he worked nice last week at Warwick Farm between races and then had another follow up workout on Monday,” he said.
“He was very sharp in his work there and his recovery was very good, which to me it shows that he’s ready to go.”
Rebel Dane will be ridden by Craig Williams who claimed three winners at Sandown on Wednesday to join Damien Oliver on top of the Victorian Metropolitan jockey challenge.
Rebel Dan is rated an equal favourite in early markets, along with Vain Queen and Angelic Light.
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