Nangar Rust Readies For Sandown Return

JASON Thompson is confident Nangar Rust is ready to fulfill his potential as a top class sprinter ahead of his Sandown Park return on Thursday night.

JASON Thompson is confident new kennel edition Nangar Rust is ready to fulfill his potential as a top class sprinter ahead of his Sandown Park return on Thursday night.

The striking red fawn flyer turned heads in March 2020 when he trialled in a stunning 28.95, a time that makes him (unofficially) the fifth faster ever at the View Road circuit.

Proving it was no one off, the well-bred type franked that run a week later when trialling 29.03 between races.

Connections had set Nangar Rust for the Launching Pad however were forced to change tack when the emerging COVID-19 crisis saw the cancellation of the series. He instead powered through the grades in New South Wales, winning eight of his first 10 starts before running an unlucky fourth to Dewana Classic at Sandown Park in May (Dewana Classic paid $88.50 for the win, a record tote price at Sandown Park).

With the racing world seemingly at his feet, a serious hock injury saw him spend seven months on the sidelines. After two indifferent runs on his return, he qualified for the Group 2 Gosford Cup before again heading south and recording an impressive first up win at The Meadows with new trainer Jason Thompson.

"He's missed a lot of racing," Thompson told SEN Track.

"He's come back from the injury and I don't think he's lost a lot ability wise. As good as his run was Saturday night (winning in 29.94), and it was an encouraging run and good for his confidence, I do think the dog still needs quite a bit of time yet to hopefully develop into a race dog that is not just a fast trial dog, but a good race dog because there's quite a difference in that.

“It doesn't matter how quick you run on your own, if you can't do it with seven others, well, it really doesn't mean a lot. And I think that's where he's at at the moment."

"(But) I think if he can get a bit of consistent racing into him and get his confidence up, I'm sure he can work his way through the field and learn to negotiate other dogs. He's very strong and hopefully, the next few months have a little bit of luck.

“And I think it's crucial his next few starts that he can hopefully get on a bit of a roll and not get knocked around too much, keep his confidence up and then I think he could really go on and develop hopefully, into a nice dog."

Nangar Rust has drawn box six in the grade 5 event on Thursday night, a draw Thompson believes should suit.

His performance on Thursday night will go someway towards determining which path Thompson will take with Nangar Rust, with the TAB Australian Cup coming up at The Meadows, while a step up to 600m is also a possibility.

"He's raced there (at Sandown) twice after his two good trials so I think he'll enjoy going around Sandown again,” Thompson added.

“Hopefully he can get a nice clean run and have a nice win. I mean, you never count them before you get them but he's going in there off a nice run Saturday night and back to a track that will really suit him.

"I think Thursday night will tell us where we're going to head with him because obviously, the Australian Cup is coming up. But I think with his racing pattern, unless he can negotiate those dogs that put a lot of heat on you for the first 200m, we'll obviously have to step him up over a bit more ground.

“So, the next couple of weeks is pretty crucial for him."

Nangar Rust is rated a $2.50 chance with Tab.com.au.

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