Jockey Fred Kersley will be looking to win his first ever Group 1 aboard Dice Roll in Saturday’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
Kersley, 22, has ridden 206 career wins to date but the ultimate Group 1 success has eluded the up-and-coming jockey and is hoping French import Dice Roll will be his lucky charm.
The gelding kicked off its Australian campaign in style, winning his first three races over 1400m, however, after two runs where he was beaten over 1600m at Flemington in July, trainer Nick Ryan decided to freshen up his seven-year-old for this assignment.
Speaking with Andrew Bensley on SEN Track, Kersley believes Dice Roll has the turn of foot along with a light weight of 52kgs to cause an upset.
“You never know and as Nick (Ryan) touched on during the week, these imports can really jump out of the ground and go much better in their second prep, and I do feel that he’s one horse that will benefit from just having that great prep and having a short little let-up and coming back,” Kersley said.
“He holds his fitness very well, and if we can get a little bit of help with the barrier draw, I think there’s no reason why he can’t be really in it and running on late.
“We’ve seen the turn of foot that he has got and his three goes at 1400m were all won in great fashion, there’s no reason why he can’t be a contender on a light weight.”
Dice Roll arrives at Caulfield off the back of an impressive Cranbourne trial, when finishing third in a nice piece of work that has resulted in early market support, opening at $19 before being back into $16 for the feature.
