Ben Hayes urges Everest slot-holders to take notice of Chautauqua Stakes favourite Arkansaw Kid
Ben Hayes is expecting Chautauqua Stakes favourite Arkansaw Kid to be on the radar of Everest slot-holders after Saturday.
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Everest slot-holders could be well served monitoring the Listed Chautauqua Stakes at The Valley, along with the Group 1 Moir Stakes on Saturday, for inspiration.
Lindsay Park trainer Ben Hayes has declared favourite Arkansaw Kid an Everest contender-in-waiting ahead of the Chautauqua Stakes.
“He’s a lot better than what he’s shown everyone,” Hayes said.
“At home he’s an electric worker and if he starts converting that to the sprint trips he’s a genuine horse Everest slot-holders should be looking at.
“We’ve had a couple of good sprinters and he’s as good as them, he’s very sharp, he comes up the hill like Vega Magic … he’s been our best horse for The Everest since Vega.”
• Early Oil: Tips, race-by-race analysis for The Valley
Vega Magic placed second in inaugural 2017 Everest behind Redzel.
Arkansaw Kid skipped an 1100m Group 3 at Caulfield last week for the Chautauqua Stakes, with a view to return to The Valley in three weeks for the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m).
“We just thought this week looked like a better option for him,” Hayes said.
“If he was to win at The Valley we could consider the Manikato in three weeks’ time, hit it third-up and there is also an option, if the Manikato is ridiculously strong, we could wait and run him down the straight in the Bobbie Lewis in a months’ time.
“It’s all placement and he gets in a lot better in the weights too, I think he had 58kg last Saturday and he’s got 55kg this Saturday. It was a no-brainer for us.”
Arkansaw Kid is $2.10 with TAB from Who Dares ($4.40), A Little Deep ($4.80) and Desert Lightning ($6.50).
The four-year-old Harry Angel gelding returned a winner at Caulfield last month, his first start since the ultimate gear change.
“You want to see them do it once they’ve been gelded, it was a big call to geld him but we really felt he wasn’t being 100 per cent genuine going to the races,” Hayes said.
“Just being a bit of a thinker but now he’s a hardened gelding, we’ll see, time will tell if he’s good enough, he needs to show people first.”
• Start your engines: The Everest contenders ready to roll
Hayes, who trains in partnership with brothers JD and Will, has nine starters at The Valley on Saturday including Stoli Bolli in the Listed McKenzie Stakes.
Stoli Bolli won on debut at Geelong and followed up with a gallant second at The Valley behind the sharp Daggers.
“It was a fantastic run and he deserves his shot at black-type,” Hayes said.
“He missed the start and got a bit keen and then unlucky, I think if he had clear running he would’ve pushed the winner (Daggers).
“I don’t think he would’ve won but he would’ve pushed it and that winner is pretty good.
“If he relaxes he’ll have that good turn of foot, he’s third up and ready to go, we’re quite confident he can be competitive in stakes level.”
Originally published as Ben Hayes urges Everest slot-holders to take notice of Chautauqua Stakes favourite Arkansaw Kid
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