Mick Chircop can't help but dream of Inter Dominion, Hunter and Victoria Cups as his prodigiously talented General Dodge continues to build towards Grand Circuit racing, including stepping out for tomorrow night's TAB Golden Reign Free For All.
Lightly raced, with illness and injury limiting the eight-year-old to 18 starts that produced 13 wins, Chircop said he'd step with caution but confidence is clearly high in the camp after General Dodge's win on return at Geelong.
"You watch these big races and think, he should be there, he's a good horse," he said. "High cruising speed, that's his greatest asset. When you train him here some days he just lets rip and it didn't feel like I went a 28 quarter, it just didn't feel like that at all - it felt like a 31. It just felt effortless."
He's going to have to show those elite attributes to register victory at Tabcorp Park Melton this weekend, with a class field to contest the $24,000 feature, which will separate the $210,000 Australian Pacing Gold four-year-old finals.
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"There's two (top horses) in (his race), Star Galleria and Max Delight - I think highly of Max Delight, I think the next 12 months he will be a real nice horse," Chircop said. "He'll be right up there.
"We got the advantage at the draw to be able to push forward and get into a nice possie before them and see what happens from there. As long as he pulls up well and everything goes well he'll push on."
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