King of the TAB Black Mountain

His namesake might have had a forgettable and tough season, but talented six-year-old King Gutho can hit the ground running when he resumes off a six week break in the inaugural TAB Federal Black Mountain sprint at Thoroughbred Park this Friday.

A $50K addition to the Canberra spring program has brought together a competitive field of local and NSW country-based sprinters locking horns over 1000m under Quality conditions.

And with a further $100K bonus up for grabs for any horse who can break the 1000m track record of 55.84 seconds, the Black Mountain looms as the ideal platform for a late crack at a much higher mountain - the $2m Kosciuszko at Randwick on Everest day, October 19.

One of Canberra's more renowned and visible landmarks, Black Mountain is located just west of the ANU, and is home to Black Mountain (formerly Telstra) Tower.

Certainly, King Gutho - naturally named after Parramatta fullback Clint Gutherson - crosses the close border to the foot of "capital" mountain with the right fresh credentials.

And it's little wonder Queanbeyan trainer Joe Cleary and a long list of owners are full of optimism their gelding by Better Than Ready is ready to rock, picking up from where he left off winning a BM 64 over 1100m at Canterbury on August 7.

King Gutho was strong through the line in a dominant and recent home trial win, and he boasts a handy record when on the fresher side, especially over the five furlong journey.

Still sparingly raced considering he made his debut way back in the spring of 2020, he's had just 32 starts for five wins and a further nine placings.

Admittedly Thoroughbred Park hasn't been a happy hunting ground for King Gutho, but 57.5kg is one of the lighter weights he's carried all year, and he looks set for an economical run off speed after drawing the fence.

Mind you, there'll be no little or no room for error against some worthy rivals.

Goulburn visitor, seven-year-old Tulla Park is also in smart form shooting for a third win from his last five.

He won a Federal on the synthetic here back in late July before repeating the dose to beat a smart BM 85 field on August 23.

And just to remind punters and racegoers he wasn't becoming a synthetic track specialist, Tulla Park roared home for a close placing in the feature Ian Reid Sprint at Wagga only 15 days ago.

If pure speed counts for anything, another Goulburn flyer in Master Joe is set to give this a mighty shake returning for his first run since early December last year.

Still lightly raced with four wins from 14, Master Joe boasts a 75 percent winning strike rate first-up from four starts, and trialled well behind high class I Am Me who subsequently came out and won the Group 3 Concorde Stakes at Randwick running 55.97 secs for the 1000m and a sizzling 32.50 secs for his last 600m.

With fine and at times windy weather across the 48 hours leading up, track officials expect to run the Black Mountain on a Good 4 rating.

My TAB BLACK MOUNTAIN Tips:

1. KING GUTHO

2. Tulla Park

3. Master Joe

4. Fangela

@NeilEvansmail

Good Luck

Canberra Racing