Stack ponders Red Mills Trial return for Carlo Biraghi

Ashley Iveson
February 12, 2020 12:30 pm

Long absent five-year-old may be back at Gowran.

Fozzy Stack will wait until later in the week before deciding whether to let Carlo Biraghi make his return from more than a year on the sidelines at Gowran Park.

The gelded son of Galileo was considered good enough to run in the Irish Derby as a three-year-old, but was not seen again in 2018.

He made his return to action over hurdles at Punchestown last January, and an impressive victory lined him up for a potential tilt at the Triumph Hurdle – only for a setback to rule him out of the Cheltenham Festival.

Stack had hoped to get his charge back on the racecourse last year, with the £1million Ebor and the November Handicap mooted as potential targets – and while he did not make either race, he is closing in on a return, with Saturday’s Red Mills Trial Hurdle the first option.

Stack said: “I’d say it’s 50-50 whether he’ll run or not. It looks like the ground will be very soft if the meeting goes ahead.

“He’s getting there. We had hoped to run him on the Flat towards the back end of last season, but it didn’t happen.

“We’re happy with him at the moment, and he’s in good form. The plan is to give him a run over hurdles somewhere, and then go back on the Flat with him.

“There aren’t many options for him after Saturday. I think there might be a hurdle race or two in March.”