Mornington trainer Jerome Hunter to continue recovery from virus halt in Apache Cat Classic

A virus put Jerome Hunter’s stable out of action for a few months but Rich Fortune will be out to make up for lost opportunities in Saturday’s Apache Cat Classic at Cranbourne.

Jerome Hunter took all of his racehorses out of training after a virus went through his stable earlier this year. Picture: Racing Photos.

Victory in Saturday’s Apache Cat Classic would be the perfect way for Mornington trainer Jerome Hunter to rebuild momentum after a tricky period.

A virus went through Hunter’s Mornington stable late in autumn, forcing Hunter to spell his consistent team through the winter months.

“I just said, ‘this isn’t working’ because my horses, if they’re not winning, at least they’re consistent so I put them all out and just brought in all two-year-olds,” Hunter said.

“Then we brought them all back and we’ve had a few runners since.”

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Hunter only resumed taking horses to the races on November 1, notching two wins with unbeaten mare Lady Tino from only four runners back.

Rich Fortune was Hunter’s first runner for nearly four months when she ran a solid first-up third on Bendigo Cup day.

Hunter was happy with Rich Fortune’s effort but flagged a return to her previous tactics for the Apache Cat Classic.

“I think she was a bit too fresh first-up,” Hunter said.

Rich Fortune will have her second spring run in Saturday’s Apache Cat Classic at Cranbourne. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images.

“She’s normally a backmarker but she jumped too well at Bendigo and she was exposed in the big, long straight.

“I think going back to the 1000(m), there will be a bit more speed on and hopefully she can weave her way through the Cranbourne crowd.”

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Rich Fortune was a Group 3 winner at Sandown at her previous second-up outing in February before running third in the Group 3 Zeditave Stakes at the same venue.

Hunter said Rich Fortune was on target to tackle Melbourne’s feature sprints across the busy Christmas period.

“We wanted her to have a good spell so we put up with missing the spring and there’s a couple of stakes races we’re aiming for with her in December,” Hunter said.

“There’s the Kensington Stakes (at Flemington) and a race on Boxing Day (the Christmas Stakes) that if she wins that, she gets into the Oakleigh Plate.

“We’ve got plenty of options to space her runs like we did last time in because we want to run her in the autumn as well.”

Originally published as Mornington trainer Jerome Hunter to continue recovery from virus halt in Apache Cat Classic