Time To Boogie trainer weighing Canterbury Sprint against Randwick race

Trainer Michael Freedman has a decision to make about the near future of his rising star, Time To Boogie. The trainer could enter his five-year old gelding in this Wednesday’s Listed Canterbury Sprint. Alternatively, Freedman could opt for Time To Boogie to run this Saturday in a 1200m Benchmark-88 at Randwick.

Time To Boogie has raced just once so far this horse racing season, so Freedman’s team want to be deliberate about when and where to race him in the near future.

Time To Boogie on track for Canterbury

While Freedman says he needs to be deliberate about how to manage Time To Boogie as he returns to fitness, the trainer is fairly open to whatever comes Time To Boogie’s way this week.

Both the Benchmark-88 and the Canterbury Sprint are good options, says Freedman. However, everything depends on what happens this Wednesday.

“We’ll just see how Wednesday shapes up and we’ll have the option of Randwick on Saturday instead if we decide to go that way,” Freedman explained.

Time To Boogie is one of 13 horses who have been nominated for the Canterbury Sprint. He has until Tuesday to enter the Benchmark-88 at Randwick.

Back from long layoff

One of the main reasons Time To Boogie is one horse racing betting fans are watching is because of the amount of time he has been away.

The betting sites and experts like ourselves are still waiting to see what the five year old has to offer.

Time To Boogie has raced just three times this year (excluding trial runs) due to a throat issue he had which required surgery.

“He developed a little ulcer in his throat which got infected so he had to go out for that and then he came back in and it progressively got worse, so we eventually had to do a tie-back throat surgery,” Freedman said this week.

“Then he had two months off after that and in the end we just bit the bullet and said, ‘let’s just give him a good three months off and start again’.”

“In for a good campaign”

It’s too early to say whether Freedman’s strategy of giving Time To Boogie time to recover has paid off. However, the trainer says he is impressed by what he has seen so far.

Time To Boogie finished second in his first competitive race since January last week in a benchmark-94 race at Randwick.

“For a horse that’s been off the scene for nearly 12 months, I thought he ran terrific,” Freedman said after the race.

“He all but won,” he added.

“I think he’s come on well from that run and whether he goes to Wednesday, depending on that field, or Randwick next Saturday it looks like he’s hopefully in for a good campaign.”

If things go well, Time To Boogie could even get a chance in Group 1 races this season. Freedman didn’t give any specifics, but he is confident about what his horse can do. 

“He’s a really good, competitive horse. He rarely runs a bad race unless he’s got a genuine excuse,” he said.