11.7.21. Noduff Aria (pictured) had his long-awaited six bend trial yesterday evening before racing. Fred didn’t disappoint. Showing his usual lack of early dash, he stayed on strongly to win the trial by eight lengths in a calculated 38.94. That will make him very competitive in S3 races and, with a little improvement which will surely follow more races over the trip, also in S2.

Interestingly, Fred seemed to be doing his best work at the end of the race and we look forward to seeing him perform against some seasoned stayers so we can measure exactly how well he gets the trip and possibly beyond. All we need now is for the Monmore Racing Office to schedule some six bend races once the current cough epidemic subsides.