Mitchell Leaves No Stone Unturned In MDC Pursuit

VICTORIAN trainer Geoff Mitchell plans to leave no stone unturned in his bid to give Aussie Rocks every chance to produce his best in next month's Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase (520m).

Winner at 12 of his 29 starts, Aussie Rocks secured a berth in the MDC semi-finals at Wentworth Park on October 6 with his gallant second to Saige Tenniele in the Group 1 National Sprint Grand Final at The Meadows recently. 

FIELDS AND FORM WENTWORTH PARK SATURDAY

Remarkably, the son of Aussie Infrared was a late call-up into the showpiece event following the withdrawal of Amron Boy, and almost stole the race out in front, only to be gunned down in the shadows of the post.

But immediately following the event, Mitchell turned his attention to the Million Dollar Chase, trialling his star chaser at Wentworth Park last Saturday in preparation for his Sydney racing debut this weekend.

"He trialled 30.22 and got to the line as quick as anything on the night but he was very strange to the track," Mitchell said.

"The boxes are different to here at home and he lost the first corner as well. You could tell he was never really comfortable but that was the idea of bringing him up for the trial.

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AUSSIE ROCKS is running in the Group 1 National Sprint Championship (525m) at @MelbourneGreys for Victorian trainer Geoff Mitchell.

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— WatchDog Racing (@WatchDogRacing) August 26, 2023

"I expect him to improve off that again this Saturday and the plan is for him to have a start or two more before the semi-finals. We've got a spot in the race so we are going to give him every chance."

A model of consistency throughout his 29 start career, Aussie Rocks has been in the money at 13 of his 14 most recent starts and has only missed a place on six occasions.

"The last few months he's just really matured," Mitchell said.

"Early on if he drew wide he'd carve across and bring himself undone at the same time but now he's really learnt how to race and is handling himself much better in a field.

"If he keeps improving like I hope and expect at Wentworth Park and he draws well in the right race his form tells you he'd be a good chance in a (MDC) semi-final."

Aussie Rocks has drawn box six up against 4/5th grade opposition for his official Wentworth Park debut on Saturday where Mitchell is cautiously optimistic.

"It's a pretty strong field – a lot of the dogs in the race have won plenty of races there and obviously have the experience," he added.

"The main thing is that he improves off his trial and shows us he's heading in the right direction. Everything we are doing now is about this time next month."

Mitchell is no stranger to overseeing a group quality chaser, having guided prolific winner Remo Rubik during his grand career.

"He won a Traralgon and Wangaratta Cup and made a Melbourne Cup Final … he was a very good dog," Mitchell recalled.