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Brilliant New South Wales horseman Luke McCarthy is putting Spirit Of St Louis’ below-par performance in the third round of SENTrack Inter Dominion Pacing Championship heats down to the brutal nature of the series.
Spirit Of St Louis finished 10th behind Mach Dan at Geelong on Saturday night, with a post-race veterinary exam revealing a slow recovery.
McCarthy spoke with Michael Guerin after the horse trained by he and wife Belinda came up with barrier four for this weekend’s final at Tabcorp Park Melton.
“We were very disappointed with him and whether (it was) the three runs in the week… he just wasn’t as sharp the last night,” McCarthy said.
“We had him scoped (Monday) morning and pulled bloods and he seems fine, so we will continue on as a normal preparation for Saturday night.”
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While Jack Callaghan will drive Spirit Of St Louis, McCarthy will be in the sulky behind stablemate Expensive Ego (barrier six).
McCarthy said it was unlikely he could win the race from a spot outside the leader, a place his charge has been right throughout the series.
“I don’t think so,” McCarthy said.
“They’re probably going to break the track record again in the final, so if you’re not on the fence it’s obviously hard.
“I think he’s going well, but he does have to do all the work all the time.”
Expensive Ego accumulated 37 points throughout the three nights of ID22 heats to qualify for the final in fourth spot, while Spirit Of St Louis snuck in with 26.
The TAB had Expensive Ego rated as an $11 chance to win the race at 11am on Tuesday, with Spirit Of Louis is $12.
WATCH MICHAEL GUERIN’S CHAT WITH LUKE MCCARTHY BELOW:
