Robbie Griffiths wants Melbourne’s drought to continue for Verdad at Sandown

Seemingly rare rain forced Verdad’s scratching from Saturday’s Flemington meeting, but a fine forecast would convince Robbie Griffiths to run the gelding at Sandown on Saturday.

Cranbourne trainer Robbie Griffiths wouldn’t mind if Victoria’s dry spell continued a little longer.

Victoria has had below average rainfall throughout the autumn months, which has produced firmer than usual tracks, which suited Griffiths’s charge Verdad.

Verdad was set to run at Flemington last Saturday before seemingly rare rain forced Griffiths to scratch the gelding to save him for a Sandown meeting a week later.

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Little rain is in the forecast for Melbourne this week, which would boost the chances of Verdad lining up in a heat of the Winter Championship series.

Griffiths said he would like Melbourne’s tracks to remain firm enough for Verdad to continue to the Listed Winter Championship Final at Flemington in July.

“He’s hopeless on soft ground,” Griffiths said.

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“If he’s going well enough, he can go back to black type racing.

“He could go back to black type racing in Queensland but they’re having a really wet year up there.

Robbie Griffiths won’t be doing any rain dances in Melbourne any time soon. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images.

“We’re probably better off if the drought continues down here, then we can go to the Winter Championship.”

Punters maligned Verdad for a period after the four-year-old went 17 months without a win following his easy debut success at Bendigo in September 2023.

However, star jockey James McDonald provided the information that has helped Verdad back into the punters’ good books, winning his last two outings in good ground, the latest as an odds-on favourite at Mornington last month.

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“I think J-Mac was a big plus for his career so far because he said he was just over-doing it,” Griffiths said.

“He said he was in key spots but not saving energy.

“So we put the earmuffs on him and gave him a few quiet trials.

“He’s gone back to his normal gear and gone ‘win win’, on dry ground.”

Originally published as Robbie Griffiths wants Melbourne’s drought to continue for Verdad at Sandown