KEY POINTS:
Let Go Thommo will provide Simon Zahra with a rare opportunity to train a stakeswinner in his own right when he contests today's group three Rubiton Stakes at Caulfield.
Zahra, 36, was granted his trainer's licence a month ago with a view to formalising a training partnership with Mathew Ellerton, 33, in the coming weeks.
In the meantime West Australian trainer Stephen Ryan, whose Victorian trainer's permit expired last year, has appointed Zahra as the caretaker trainer for Let Go Thommo and City Of Ruins.
The winner of 11 of his 29 starts, Let Go Thommo is overdue for success, with his last victory the group one Goodwood Handicap (1200m) at Morphettville in May.
Last spring he ran a series of group two placings behind top sprinters Gold Edition, Tesbury Jack and Miss Andretti in the Schillaci Stakes, Hilton International Sprint and the Schweppes Stakes respectively.
He resumes in today's 1100m feature after his last-start seventh to Gibraltar Campion in the listed Heffernan Stakes (1200m) at Sandown on November 17.
"He had a short break and we gave him a jumpout last week and he went terrific," Zahra said last night.
He said Let Go Thommo's record last spring would have been better had he been able to race closer to the lead. "The problem was that he was conceding too much of a start all the time," Zahra said.
"He is always running home and finishing within a half-length or so of them.
Zahra, who worked for John Hawkes for several seasons, is looking forward to joining forces with Ellerton after being his assistant trainer for the last six years.
"Mat and I have been partners in the business and we thought it was time to take the next step," he said. "It is getting tougher for trainers and it [the partnership] is a way of trying to keep growing."
Let Go Thommo would also provide a positive start to the new year for Steven King who returns to riding after suffering a leg fracture in a barrier accident at Seymour on August 12.
He is King's only ride as he eases himself back into full-time action.
- AAP
