Red Vee is a dog in form, the Warren Nicholls sprinter has won four of his six starts since returning to the track on the 16th of September and the trainer is confident his charge is primed for a return to the 520m at Albion Park in race three this Thursday night.
Before his sizzling run of form Red Vee had amassed a modest five wins in his 37 starts but had almost doubled his tally saluting four times over the 395m.
Nicholls said he attributed the turn around to maturation and a well planned racing schedule.
“Probably a bit of maturity and he’s gotten stronger as he’s got older, but maturity has been the key for him it’s all between his ears, “Nicholls said.
“We had him go over the 395 for those runs mainly for fitness but I think it’s really helped his box manners as well.”
“Last prep he was pretty slow away a lot of the time and now he’s really pinging the lids which has made a huge difference.”
Despite his success over the shorter trip Nicholls said he always believed the dog would cover the 520m.
“We always saw him as a 520 dog as a pup, but he was a bit wound up when he was younger, we always knew he had that ability it was just a matter of bringing it out of him,” he said.
“He would get himself really tensed up before races which caused a few problems but he seems to have calmed down now, so I’d like to think he could stay there over 520 now for sure.”
Nicholls has taken his time in nursing his sprinter back to his ideal distance and believes the time is right for him to perform on Thursday night.
“I think he’s very well placed to run a good race tomorrow night, he’s boxed well in the eight and everything looks in his favour, so we’re looking forward to it,” he said.
“Hopefully he can bring that maturity and box manners with him Thursday night, it’d be good to see him open up a bit of a lead if he can get out and round them at the first turn.”
The Red Vee of St George Illawarra won’t be popular in Brisbane this week with the home town Broncos taking on the Wollongong based outfit this weekend and despite his dogs name Nicholls is well and truly a Queensland man.
“I hate St George and all the owners name them after St George people to stir me up, I had one here called Immortal Mary named after Mary MacGregor (St George Coach) but the owners just like stirring me up,” he said.
“There’s two owners, one is a Cowboys fan and the other is a St George fan and they thought it would be funny doing it.”