Off The Chart back on track

By Josh Spasaro

After admitting he had a “disappointing” return to racing following his Golden Easter Egg triumph, trainer Peter Presutto says Off The Chart is now ready to add another Group title to his glittering resume.

Melbourne trainer Presutto believes his two-year-old, who has saluted in the Ballarat and Shepparton Cups this year before a five-length triumph in the Golden Easter Egg, has returned to fine form.

It means he will be hard to beat ahead of the Brisbane Cup heats over 520 metres at Q2 Parklands this Saturday night.

Presutto was delighted with the performance of his brindle dog at The Meadows in his last start, saluting over 525 metres and crossing the line in 29.71 seconds last Saturday.

“He’s looking exactly where I want him to be. He won well at The Meadows on Saturday night, so he’s going into it where we want him to be,” Presutto said.

“Hopefully he can at least replicate that, but it’s not easy going up there to Brisbane and competing against those dogs.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to attack these races because they’re the best races going around with good money.

“So, you’ve just got to have a go at it.”

The top Victorian trainer said he expected better from Off The Chart for his Group 1 Harrison-Dawson campaign over 515 metres at Sandown. He finished last in his heat and crossed the line in 30.18 seconds on May 14.

However, this came after a one-month break following his stunning Group 1 Golden Easter Egg triumph over 520 metres at Wentworth Park, where he blitzed the field by five lengths and recorded a stunning time of 29.12 seconds.

“It was a surprise in his Harrison-Dawson heat. We were disappointed in the run,” Presutto said. 

“He went to Brisbane after that (finishing fifth in his Flying Amy Classic heat) and probably the preparation going into that wasn’t 100 percent.

“But, hopefully we’ve rectified everything now and he’ll go into the Brisbane Cup with the same confidence from the Egg.

“You want to see what he did last Saturday night going into a race like this. They’ve got to be at their best.”

Presutto added Off The Chart had the ability to make a bad box look good, like he did in his triumphant Golden Easter Egg campaign.

“Once he got through his heat and won, he’d never been to Wentworth Park before. So, after that, I thought he’s ticked that box,” he said.

“I thought he’s had a look at the track and he should get better with it and he did. And, then he got better the third week, as well.

“He drew box five in each of those Egg races. I think he’s got the ability to make a bad box look good.”

By Hooked On Scotch and out of Peggy Lu, Presutto also trains Off The Chart’s litter siblings Simply Stunning and On The Prowl.

On The Prowl and Simply Stunning have recorded six wins each, the latter finishing a respective second and third in the Geelong Cup and Sapphire Crown Final.

“They’re just very fast dogs and very good dogs,” Presutto said. 

“They’re a pleasure to have in the kennel and natural racers. Their temperaments are second to none. They’re lovely dogs with a lot of ability.”

Meanwhile, Presutto added he was delighted with Without A Trace ahead of the Queensland Cup heats over 710 metres, also at Q2 Parklands this Saturday night.

“I’m very happy with her at the moment. She trialled well at The Meadows last week,” he said of this year’s Sale Cup champion.

“Her run home was phenomenal, going 34.08 seconds over 600 metres. I think she ran home in 12.13 seconds.

“You’d be happy with a 500 metre effort running home in 12.13 seconds.

“She’s feeling great. I’m keen to get her up there to see what she can do against the better ones.”