Jockey Mark Zahra went a long way to test his mount for Saturday's PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
Zahra travelled more than 300km from Bendigo, where he rode on Sunday, to Coleraine to ride imported performer Gailo Chop in a gallop for premier trainer Darren Weir on Monday morning.
Weir often uses country tracks in Victoria's west for private jumpouts or course proper trackwork sessions to give the best of his massive team a chance to work on better surfaces.
"I have a done a couple of those trips," Zahra said. "They ask me every three or four months when they have got a lot of good horses working.'
Australian punters had a good look at Gailo Chop in the spring of 2015 where he was outclassed by Winx in that year's Cox Plate before backing up a week later to beat Rising Romance and Contributer in the Group I Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.
Zahra had his first sit on Gailo Chop at Coleraine, reporting the former French galloper gave him a solid feel but the seven-year-old would improve on his PB Lawrence Stakes outing, which will be his first since he competed in the Group I Sheema Classic (2400m) in Dubai in March last year.
"He worked all right. He just worked by himself and had a cruise around and he worked nicely enough," Zahra said.
"It was the first time I have been on him and he went all right in his gallop but whether he is forward enough yet, I'm not sure.
"I'm sure Darren has a bigger plan for him but I wouldn't think Saturday would be it for him. I think he'll run well and then improve off what he does."
Bookies have a mixed opinion of Gailo Chop's chances of a first-up win with the seven-year-old as short as $17 with Ladbrokes and CrownBet while Bet365 has the winner of eight of 16 starts at $34.
