From Pinjarra to Belmont: Phanta hunts feature double for Gangemi brothers

Chris Gangemi is confident Phanta, his seasoned eight-year-old, will get the conditions to suit in Saturday’s Listed Idyllic Prince Stakes (1300m) at Belmont.

Phanta is chasing the second leg of a feature winter double after a strong win in the Belmont Newmarket (1200m), held at Pinjarra two weeks ago.

“It’s full steam ahead for Saturday, it looks a nice race,” Gangemi said on Tabradio.

“Obviously the 1300m should suit and hopefully we get the rain to hang around in the next couple of days, which it should.

“Weight-For-Age should suit him; he meets most of the horses he raced the other day better at the weights.

“It looks a nice race for him to be competitive again.

“He did get the conditions to suit the other day (Belmont Newmarket), but he still had done it tough with the big weight.

“He held them off well and I was pretty proud of him.”

While Phanta has his limitations and might not be the most naturally gifted gallopers the stable has trained, Gangemi is a big fan of the gelding.

Phanta began his racing career under Justin Warwick and made an immediate impression by winning on debut before joining the Gangemi’s four years ago.

“It was up in the air last year whether we give him another prep, knowing we had to wait for winter,” Gangemi said.

“Michael (Gangemi) thought he deserved that and proved him right the other week.

“He’s been a really good horse for us; he only won one race when we bought him and has now won three stakes races.

“He’s still winning them at eight years of age but very proud of him.

“He’s had some issues to deal with but has been a tough old horse for us.”

If Phanta gets through the Idyllic Prince Stakes in good order, Gangemi has floated the idea that he could target the inaugural running of the Golden Saddle in Kalgoorlie.

“We did have the Farnley in mind but now that he won that race the other day, he might be almost weighted out of that,” Gangemi said.

“We weigh up whether he goes to the Farnley with big weight or we freshen him up.

“Kalgoorlie not ideal either, but if he can do all work down here (Perth) on soft tracks he may go after the Golden Saddle.

“The only negative is if the Kalgoorlie track is pretty firm which it can be at times, but there’s not a hell of a lot of options for him.

“He’s a high rated horse, an open class sprinter and be one of our best options for it I would say.”

Another possible Golden Saddle option for the Gangemi’s is recent eastern states newcomer, Aardvark.

A promising son of Capitalist, Aardvark delivered his best performance to date when he won the Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m) at Flemington last year.

“He won a stakes race as a two-year-old and we have to see how he comes up,” Gangemi said.

“His work has been really good and the trial and first up run will tell us whether he deserves to go or not.”

Phanta has drawn barrier one for the Idyllic Prince Stakes and will be ridden by Shaun McGruddy.

Stable mate Rockanori is also one of 11 nominations and from gate five will have Jordan Turner as his partner.

The Gangemi’s are chasing their second Idyllic Prince Stakes, having been successful previously with Rock Magic in 2016.

The Golden Saddle is Western Australia's richest regional race and will be staged on October 4, Kalgoorlie Cup Day.

The historic 1200m sprint will be contested under weight-for-age conditions with 12 slot holders securing sprinters to compete in the inaugural race.

Julio Santarelli