No panic for Freedman after gelding’s disappointing spring campaign

Randwick trainer Michael Freedman is taking encouragement from a sharp trial in group 1 company from Panic as he tries to get him back to top form. The four-year-old gelding resumes at Rosehill on Saturday in race five, a benchmark 72 handicap (1200m), after an 18-week spell and two trials following a failed spring campaign. Panic, carrying the red and white silks, wins the South Pacific Classic in April at Randwick.

Credit: Getty Images A winner of four from nine starts, Panic took out the listed South Pacific Classic in April last year before finishing last at Doomben. He returned in the spring for a fifth and last in two Randwick runs before being spelled. In his most recent trial, Panic was second between the Chris Waller-trained group 1 winners Joliestar and Lindermann.



Panic starts out in a low grade from gate one carrying 58.5 kilograms, thanks to the three-kilogram claim of Wyong apprentice Anna Roper, and Freedman hoped the $11 Sportsbet chance could rediscover his best heading into the autumn. “He didn’t really come up in the spring, for whatever reason, so we tipped him out and gave him a nice long break,” Freedman said.

“I’ve been happy with him. I think his trial the other day was pretty good, against some pretty decent opposition. So I think being a benchmark 72, with the claim, it gets him in at a nice enough weight, so we’ll get a good enough idea of where he’s at.

“He’s won in listed grade last autumn, so if he comes back well, we can start to look at something along those lines for him.” Freedman also has top hopes on the day in Time To Boogie (race nine, $4.80) and Bunker Hut (race seven, $7).

Time To Boogie went down in a photo finish to Iowna Merc first up, then never saw daylight when seventh in the listed Canterbury Sprint a month ago. He has had a winning trial since. “We obviously had no luck on New Year’s Day and there wasn’t anything suitable for him for basically four or five weeks, so I gave him trial at Randwick just to keep him up to the mark,” he said.

“He seems good.” Bunker Hut has threatened to win in his four starts this preparation at benchmark 78 level, finishing a close second three times before a fast-finishing, half-length fourth down the inside at Rosehill on January 18. He has gate two for another go at the grade on Saturday.

“He ran well and probably at that stage of the day, in fairness to him, he ended up in the worst part of the track,” Freedman said of Bunker Hut’s most recent start. “They went wider the better as the day went on, but he still made nice ground and tried his hardest.” As for his Golden Slipper hope Pallaton, Freedman was unsure of his path to the $5 million March 22 feature.

“I’m just keeping all options open,” he said. “We might trial him next Monday at Rosehill, just to give him a look around there and then decide whether he goes Pierro Plate-Todman Stakes, or Silver Slipper-Todman.”.