Gary Portelli’s Randwick team on the way up

Warwick Farm-based Gary Portelli is looking to the future with his two runners engaged at Randwick on Saturday.

Portelli currently has three horses nominated but said back-to-back winner The Empire won’t take his place in the three-year-old benchmark 72 (1300m). Amoretti will need some luck to gain a start, currently sitting outside the final field before acceptances on Wednesday.

The four-year-old is returning from a break after finishing seventh in his last start at Hawkesbury. He ran over 1800m on a really hard track, and I was more concerned that he wasn’t coming up,” Portelli said. When I’m not liking their form, I stop, and I start again. He has freshened up nicely.

This is just a run that I think we’ll need before we step him up in distance after this. We’ll probably go to an 1900m race in a couple of weeks’ time, there is one for him at Canterbury on the 14th of July. This is just a run he has before he steps up to the 1900m.”

Portelli’s second runner is the lightly raced Not Feint Hearted who turned in a nice trial at Warwick Farm last week.

The son of Not A Single Doubt is also returning from a break, going almost a year between public appearances. Not Feint Hearted has three wins to his name, including a win on heavy going at Randwick just prior to his spell.

The Warwick Farm-based trainer says the four-year-old sustained a fetlock injury which prompted the break. He’s coming back from a little injury.

He knocked his fetlock when at trackwork before a spell,” he said. He’s right to go. I think he will be one run short. He might just need the run like he did last campaign, but he bounced off that second-up. That’s what we’re hoping to see again.”

Portelli also has two runners engaged at Canterbury on Wednesday, with Visceral a $16 chance in the Bowermans Commercial Furniture Plate (1250m), and Already Blessed who is a $13 elect in the China Horse Club Handicap (1200m).