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Dreams Aplenty to solve Zielke's winter dilemma

13 April 2018

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By Glenn Davis

Trainer John Zielke is hoping a comeback win from Dreams Aplenty at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday will help solve a winter carnival dilemma.

Dreams Aplenty will be ridden by Tegan Harrison who also is making her return back from an injury enforced break in the Open Handicap (1400m).

Dreams Aplenty won the Group Three Gunsynd Classic as a three-year-old last winter and has paid the penalty with big weights since.

The four-year-old hasn’t raced since failing in the Listed Sunshine Coast Cup on January 27 but showed he was ready to reproduce his best following an easy barrier trial win at the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

“He’s going really good and his barrier win was exceptional,” Zielke said.

“He made a mess of them and won with his ears pricked.”

Zielke plans to give Dreams Aplenty his next run in the Listed Gold Coast Cup (1400m) on May 5 which will decide where he heads in the bigger winter races.

“I don’t know exactly what to aim him for,” Zielke said.

“He’ll be nominated for the Stradbroke but 1350 metres around Doomben might be too short for him.

“I’d like to step him up in distance and he might even have a go at weight-for-age or set weight races in the winter.”

Dreams Aplenty’s stablemate Hopes Eternal also is ticking along well ahead of his upcoming winter campaign.

Hopes Eternal will be ridden by apprentice Jag Guthmann-Chester in the male’s division of the QTIS Two-Year-Old Handicap (1200m).

Luke Dittman has ridden Hopes Eternal in all his seven starts including a last start third in the QTIS Two-Year-Old Jewel at the Gold Coast on March 17.

“We’ve decided to claim on him in this race but Luke will be back on for the (Listed) Dalrello Stakes in two weeks,” Zielke said.

“I had a race lined up for him recently but the handicapper was a bit cruel so I scratched in protest,” he said.

“He’s going well and after the Dalrello we’ll look at the Sires’ Produce and J J Atkins with him.”

Zielke has named unbeaten youngster Blue Book as the hardest to beat.

Blue Book won his first three starts at Doomben during the summer but hasn’t raced since winning on a soft track on December 9.

Racing Queensland webnews   April 13