22 July, 2003
Unbeaten juvenile It Is I (pictured) has
overcome a minor setback and will return to the track this Friday night at
Moonee Valley.
The David Murphy trained colt has not started since
winning his fourth race at Moonee Valley on 28 June.
Friday's $12,000 Cadbury Schweppes 2YO Pace will
double as the budding star's final appearance for the season.
"We scratched him earlier this month because he
had a cough", Murphy explained.
"There was a bit of it going through the stables,
nothing major, but it wasn't worth risking a valuable two-year-old like him for
a $12,000 race.
"He'll have this run and then we'll give him a
good eight weeks out in mid-August and through September when the weather's a
touch warmer.
"The aim is to have him back up and firing by SA
Derby time."
An imposing son of Golden Greek, It Is I is a
half-brother to $100,000 earners Nudge and La Speranza.
After a hat-trick of wins on his home track at
Ballarat, he lived up to the wraps crushing big guns The Sentry, Fair Dinkum
Lombo and Penny Veejay from the death seat in a flying 27.8sec closing quarter.
On Friday night he'll meet a small, but talented field
of seven and start from gate five under the preferential draw.
His main danger in the 2090 metre event will come in the
form of Kiwi import Franco Harbourmaster (gate two).
A member of the in-form Martin Herbert stable, the
nimble pacer created a big impression comfortably winning his Aussie debut at
Cranbourne last Saturday week.
Interestingly, Franco Harbourmaster is out of a
half-sister to Herbert's prized stable star Franco Heir and former Chariots Of
Fire winner Franco Hat Trick.
The Cadbury Schweppes 2YO Pace opens proceedings on an
eight race Moonee Valley card at 6.47pm (AET).
