Lindsay Park trio in desperate last stand to win premiership with David Hayes before his departure
With the David Hayes about to hand the Lindsay Park baton to son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig, a training premiership for the trio would be a welcome reward before he heads back to Hong Kong.
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With the David Hayes about to hand the Lindsay Park baton to son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig, a training premiership for the trio would be a welcome reward before he heads back to Hong Kong.
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It was only three weeks ago the Melbourne Trainers’ Premiership looked set for a shake-up with the new kids on the block Ciaron Maher and David Eustace having surged to the lead in their bid to claim their first title.
Lindsay Park, led by experienced trainer David Hayes, though has answered the challenge with eight city winners from the last three metropolitan meetings, consisting of two trebles and a double.
They now lead by eight winners with 57 wins compared to Maher and Eustace’s 49 winners.
At Flemington they have several good chances among their six runners, with the resurgent So Si Bon in the Apache Cat (1600m) leading the way as he chases an unprecedented hat-trick of wins.
“He’s in career best form. We’ll back off him up and then bring him back in the Aurie’s Star, which he won last year and then set him for the Toorak Handicap. It’s never easy to win a Group 1 race but it’s one of the easier ones,” David Hayes said.
It’s not only in the city, Lindsay Park has had a great run as they have also won another seven races in the country in the past fortnight and they have also bridged the gap in the Victorian Trainer’s Premiership to five taking their tally to 179 trailing Maher and Eustace on 184 winners.
Hayes said they were now in a good position to win the city premiership with nine weeks left in the season.
“We’ve got the right horses in the right races and I think that will keep going and we’ve got nice chances to come in the next few weeks.
“They now need to train eight winners to get in front of us. If we train two then they’ve got to train ten and so on. It’s going to be pretty hard to catch us with nine weeks left.”
Hayes, who will return to Hong Kong to train for it’s next season felt it was important for the stable’s other trainers, his nephew Tom Dabernig and son Ben Hayes, that they could win a premiership.
“It would be great for Ben and Tom, who will take over in their own right to get a premiership. We won last year but that was a bit by default due to the Darren Weir situation. I’ll also enjoy winning a premiership before I leave.”
DAVID HAYES
(on his best two chances)
SIN TO WIN (R1, No. 1 $7)
“He’s racing in great form and he’s ready to win again.”
SO SI BON (R8, No. 2 $4.60)
“He’s got to lump the grandstand but he’s a proven weight carrier. He’s in career best form and he’ll go close.”
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CUMANI SAYS KHOEKHOE COULD BE ‘MY BEST YET’
Matt Cumani believes two-year-old colt Khoekhoe has the potential to be his best horse he has trained but is equally aware that he’s got a long way to go in his career to fulfil that prediction.
And that’s why Cumani said the pressure is on when Khoekhoe lines up in the Tom Melbourne Trophy (1400m) at Flemington.
“It’s an important day. He’s got a bit more competition. We’ve got to decide whether to press on to Brisbane and to also get another guide as to whether he’s a spring horse,” Cumani said.
“He’s won the most prizemoney of any horse I’ve trained but at this stage he’s won a Maiden and then a restricted race at Caulfield but the bottom line is the horse is still unexposed.”
That restricted race was his last start win in The Showdown (1200m) at Caulfield which was worth $855,000 and carried with it a first prize of $455,950.
Khoekhoe is a $2.50 chance with TAB fixed odds and Cumani said he had wished for a bigger field and one with slightly more depth today to give him a better guide as to where he sits.
“I know it sounds strange but I think he could be a Caulfield Guineas horse in the spring and I thought this race could be a bit harder so I could get a better guide. That doesn’t mean he’ll be winning this by any means though.”
Cumani was going to take Khoekhoe to run in the South Australian Sires’ Produce Stakes on May 9 but he had a cut which caused him to be scratched.
“I wanted to see him over 1400m in Adelaide just to get a better guide as to what we should do in spring. Instead we will get a look at Flemington.”
Cumani would love to take Khoekhoe to the J.J Atkins Stakes at Eagle Farm on June 6 but thinks there are too many obstacles due to COVID-19 protocols in his way.
“I can’t go up there nor can I send any of my staff and if he was to go up there we need to be there with him. It’s a shame as the Atkins Stakes is such a great race. When I worked for Chris Waller I was in Brisbane with Press Statement when he won that race and he went on to win the Caulfield Guineas,” he said.
Although Khoekhoe has drawn barrier two Cumani isn’t concerned.
“I’ll leave it to Fred Kersley. If he wants to go forward that wouldn’t worry me. I imagine he’ll be closer but as she showed at Caulfield he doesn’t mind a bit of argy bargy and then he can get out and use his turn of foot. He can pick his way through a field.”
Cumani said if Khoekhoe didn’t go to Brisbane he would give him a short break before coming back for spring.
Cumani has had a good week with four winners made up of two doubles at Ballarat meetings.