DILMI SAYS THE LAKES ABSENTEE CHARLEROI DEFINITELY HIS BEST AT WYONG

NACIM Dilmi is dodging his $500,000 home track feature on Saturday with his two acceptors in search of easier pickings.

The Wyong trainer withdrew both Salt Lake City and Charleroi from The Lakes (1600m) to run in supporting races, for different reasons.

Salt Lake City (apprentice Anna Roper) instead contests the Domeland Wyong Town Plate Benchmark 100 Handicap (1350m), and Charleroi (Kerrin McEvoy) tackles the Bronte Simpson Memorial Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1600m).

“Salt Lake City is resuming after finishing second in our Wyong Gold Cup (2100m) in early September,” Dilmi said this afternoon as he inspected Magic Millions yearlings at the Gold Coast before returning home tomorrow night for Saturday’s big meeting.

“Even though the ‘mile’ would have been better, Salt Lake City takes a while to get over his runs.

“As a result, I felt The Lakes wasn’t going to be suitable for him first-up.

“Salt Lake City has a big preparation ahead this time.

“His grand final is five or six runs away during the Sydney autumn carnival, and I want to take my time with him.

“The 1350m obviously is short of Salt Lake City’s best, but he has a lot of ability, and I’ll be happy to see him hitting the line hard.

“Provided he pulls up well, we’ll go next to Rosehill Gardens in a few weeks, and gradually step him up in distance to get towards 2400m.”

Salt Lake City’s defection from The Lakes would have given stablemate Charleroi, who was the sole emergency, a start in the main event.

However, his trainer felt it best keep the benchmark 66 rater to his own class by lining up in the Midway.

“Charleroi was $61 for The Lakes and a $3.10 favorite for the Midway,” Dilmi said.

“I didn’t want to send him around in The Lakes to finish second last or something like that.

“Charleroi is perfectly suited in the Midway.

“He has now had three runs back, and his last start third over the 1600m at Royal Randwick was good, and has brought him to his peak.

“Charleroi comes back from a Benchmark 78 to a Midway Benchmark 72, and has drawn well enough.

“He is definitely the best of my three runners at the meeting.”

Dilmi also resumes Humanity (Reece Jones) in Charleroi’s race, but is not expecting him to trouble his stablemate.

“Humanity is a big gross stayer who hasn’t raced for more than a year,” Dilmi said.

“This is a good starting point after being off the scene for so long, but he is going to need racing.”

Dilmi has so far trained 14 winners (and 23 placegetters from 82 starters) in his first season of training since joining Domeland as its head trainer on the Central Coast.

He has had only seven runners at Wyong for one win (promising three-year-old I Am Carrot in November) and four placings, and obviously is keen to “strike” at his home track’s Saturday metropolitan stand-alone meeting.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, JANUARY 9, 2025