Might as well give it a crack

IT APPEARS the age old philosophy of "might as well give it a crack" will form a major part of Jilliby Fabio's program in coming weeks.

Racing in top form, Jilliby Fabio completed a clean sweep of the Winter Gift Series by capturing last night's Final at Club Menangle.

As such, trainer Chris Judd is likely to aim higher with the son of Jilliby Kung Fu, which includes some ambitious targets.

"I'm not really sure what is next for him," Judd said. "I will talk to his owner Thomas (Gemmell) and discuss the options.

"He has jumped up in grade quite a lot this campaign, so things will get harder.

"There are a couple of four-year-old races over the longer distance, which probably don't suit him quite as much, but we might as well give it a crack.

"One of those is to pick the emergencies for The Eureka, so it's certainly worth looking at."

Proving too good in his Winter Gift heat, Jilliby Fabio repeated the dose in the $30,600 decider when driven to perfection by Peter McRae.

After leading from barrier seven, the gelding was eased to take a trail behind his stablemate - $2.25 favourite, Alta William.

Proving too slick along the home straight, Jilliby Fabio dashed to a three-and-a-half metre win from the pacemaker.

Montefiore was a half-neck away third as the winner stopped the clock in 1:51.9 over a mile.

"One of his best assets is his gate speed, which helps put him in the right spot," Judd said. "There is not a lot between Fabio and William, but Fabio was too good on the night."