Damien Oliver’s teachings on The Prodigal Son to be on show in Standish Handicap at Flemington

A tactical change led to disaster for The Prodigal Son last start but his trainer will revert to the template advised by former champion jockey Damien Oliver in the Standish Handicap.

Riding legend Damien Oliver’s advice won’t be forgotten in Saturday’s Group 3 Standish Handicap at Flemington.

Wodonga trainer Craig Widdison went against the Hall of Famer’s advice and paid the penalty with The Prodigal Son at Canberra last month.

The Prodigal Son won from the back of the field in Sydney first-up but Widdison put his hand up as the cause of the handy sprinter’s disastrous outing in a $200,000 race in Canberra.

• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

“It was my fault, not (jockey) Nick’s (Souquet), but I think we just rode him too close,” Widdison said.

“We thought there wasn’t a lot of speed and drew barrier one so we thought we’d take advantage of that.”

That plan went against Oliver’s thoughts after he rode The Prodigal Son to win down the Flemington straight in August 2023.

Oliver brought The Prodigal Son from the back of the field to win over the Standish Handicap course, providing a tactical template for the gelding.

“Ollie told us to ride him like that too, he told us to leave him alone and he thought that would work for him,” Widdison said.

“As usual, he would be right.

“We should know better by now.”

The Prodigal Son will return to Flemington for Saturday's Group 3 Standish Handicap. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

Naturally, Widdison said he would revert to The Prodigal Son’s previous tactics for the Standish Handicap in which punters have specked the five-year-old from $34 into $21.

“We have to let him find his feet and let him finish off,” Widdison said.

• Flemington Early Oil for Saturday: $12 value bet

Widdison said The Prodigal Son has progressed well since his unplaced Canberra outing while the son of Fighting Sun was in fairly at the weights with 54kg.

“I couldn’t be happier with him,” Widdison said.

“We just hope he measures up.

“Ratings-wise, the top rater is only 10 points above him so it’s not like we’re going right into the deep end.”

Blaike McDougall will ride The Prodigal Son in the Standish Handicap while Souquet will ride his stablemate Duped By Spin in the Jockey Acknowledgement Plate (1600m).

Duped By Spin finished fourth at Wagga at her second-up run on Christmas Eve but Widdison noted the five-year-old had seven weeks between runs after a mishap on Wodonga Cup Day.

“We were meant to go to the Wodonga Cup but she slipped in the tie-up stalls before the race so she ended up seven weeks between runs.

“She’s a bit older now, so she might take a run or two.”

Duped By Spin is a $34 chance in early betting.

Originally published as Damien Oliver’s teachings on The Prodigal Son to be on show in Standish Handicap at Flemington