Rain boost puts General Salute on track for black-type win

A timely dumping of overnight rain has quashed Sterling Alexiou’s one reservation ahead of General Salute’s bid to add the final black-type race of the Sydney season to his last start win in the Winter Stakes.

The gelding’s four career victories have all been on rain-affected ground, and with Rosehill rated a soft 5 earlier in the week, Alexiou was concerned the surface might not be forgiving enough for General Salute’s liking.

But following a soaking on Thursday night, the track was posted a heavy 9 on Friday, allaying Alexiou’s fears.

“Possibly back to drier ground on Saturday would have been the only negative I could see,” Alexiou said.

“A lot of his best form is on soft tracks.”

General Salute’s success in the Winter Stakes (1400m) ended a 15-month hiatus from the winner’s stall, although the five-year-old had placed in six of his seven starts in between, including a second to Autumn Glow in last year’s Theo Marks Stakes (1300m).

In fact, General Salute has managed a top three finish in 12 of his 18 career appearances, and if he can put another victory on the board in Saturday’s Listed Winter Challenge (1500m), he will nudge his prizemoney purse to just shy of $1 million.

“It was good to see him bounce back, and bounce back into the winner’s stall,” Alexiou said.

“He’s held his own in terms of what he’s shown us at home since that win. It’s a nice start from the 1500 so it should give Nash (Rawiller) options from a middle-draw in a big field.

“If he can get a good spot, he’ll run his usual honest race and be a good winning chance.”

Not only would a bold showing be the perfect way for General Salute to round out a lucrative winter, it would also propel him towards a potential Group 1 target.

A winner up to 1400m, he finished runner-up to Transatlantic at his only other start beyond that journey, and if he can be strong over 1500m on Saturday, an Epsom Handicap (1600m) tilt will be considered.

“The idea of running him at 1500 is to give us a platform to see if he’s going to run a strong mile,” Alexiou said.

“If we think he might, he could be a lightweight Epsom chance.”