The Inevitable defies Father Time as spring campaign looms for rising 9YO after heavyweight Glasshouse mission

The Inevitable is set to return to Tasmania after Saturday’s Listed Glasshouse Handicap at Caloundra where it was -3 degrees during the week, but another spring campaign is looming for the evergreen sprinter.

The Inevitable has his final Queensland start on Saturday. Picture: Tasracing

John Keys believes Tasmanian fan favourite The Inevitable is drinking from the Fountain of Youth as he races in career-best form as a rising nine-year-old ahead of the Listed Glasshouse Handicap at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.

The gelding has notched up the kilometres in a float, making the three-day trip north from freezing Tasmania and managed to defy Father Time by running fourth in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) last month behind Stefi Magnetica and Bella Nipotina.

Keys is keen to tackle some weight for age features in the Victorian spring following Saturday’s $300,000 Glasshouse, so long as he continues to show he has the zest for racing.

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“It seems there is plenty of life there, we don’t think he’s ever gone as well as what he did in his last race,” Keys said.

“We are so proud of him and his run in the Stradbroke.

“He is so little, a tiny horse, so he was always up against it, the slightest bump and he can lose balance.

“That is as good as he can go, that’s what Froggy (Craig Newitt) told us when he came back, he said ‘you blokes couldn’t have had him any better and he couldn’t go any better.”

The Inevitable (green and white) ran fourth behind Stefi Magnetica in the Stradbroke. Picture: Grant Peters — Trackside Photography.

While he is giving his nearest rival a four-kilogram advantage on Saturday, Keys said it is deserved as the class runner in the race.

He is also not daunted by the prospect of a wet track, saying he relishes the sting out of the ground.

“The weight is a bit of a concern, he’s giving them a fair start, touch wood the handicapper knows what he is doing,” he said.

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“This will be it up there, the poor bugger will have to come home and freeze, it was minus three (on Friday morning).

“He will be triple rugged when he comes home, have a little let up and then if he goes good in this race, we might have a look at the spring in Melbourne and come back for a crack at the weight for age races.”

With Craig Newitt jetting in to ride the horse, The Inevitable has been well supported from $9 into $6 with TAB, while Tony Gollan’s Woollombi maintains $4.80 favouritism.

Originally published as The Inevitable defies Father Time as spring campaign looms for rising 9YO after heavyweight Glasshouse mission