Another exciting weekend of racing ahead, with the G1 Turnbull Stakes the Victorian feature at Flemington on Saturday.
Hezashocka may have his first try at Group 1 level on Victorian soil in the main event, with his preference for the wide open spaces of Flemington impossible to deny.
The Price Kent trained gelding will start against some Group 1 tested horses and will have to show his very best performance to be competitive. Currently sitting as first emergency, he is not assured of a run.
Trainer Mick Price says “If he gets a run we will definitely run him, but if he doesn’t then we have other options for him. There is plenty of Country Cups out there and a Geelong Cup or Moe Cup still has very good prize money.”
“He is very fit and loves the track. If he happens to win this, he would go to the Caulfield Cup and into the Melbourne Cup. This is his opportunity.”
See the full field here.
Before the Group 1, OTI also has two runners in the Group 3 Bart Cummings. Daqiansweet Junior, the Adelaide Cup winner, has the Melbourne Cup firmly in his sights.
Trainer Phillip Stokes says “He is going very well. He’s very laid-back when he wins and only just gets there, but Jamie said she’s going to be a bit more positive now. He’ll run well Saturday.”
It is an ambitious campaign for the five-year-old gelding and he certainly deserves it.
San Huberto will also compete in the Bart Cummings for trainer Matt Cumani. The 7-year-old gelding showed good endeavour on return at Flemington, running sixth behind Hezashocka, who finished second in the race.
“He’s come through his run very well and is feeling fresh. We haven’t done too much with him between runs and I think the distance in the race will bring him on nicely for this preparation,” says Cumani.
See the full field for the G3 Bart Cummings here.
In the final event on the card, Cadazio, a horse that made headlines even before his first race start, will return to the track at Flemington in the Listed Super Impose Stakes. The son of Tarzino won impressively on debut at Geelong and since has contested in the Listed Exford Plate at Flemington, where he didn’t finish off as expected.
“We’ve done plenty of work with him at home and hopefully he should go well on Saturday. He’s done lots of nice round staying work and I hope he doesn’t grab the bridle like last start. This is one of the rounds leading into the Derby and I think we might be seeing him finish off strongly,” says trainer Mick Price.
See the full field here.
An exciting weekend of racing ahead with a few very good chances!
Best of luck to all involved.