G1 Toorak Handicap next for dashing Desert Lightning
Desert Lightning has taken three runs to break his Australian winning duck but the Group 1 winner in New Zealand could be in line to snare one at the highest level at Caulfield next start in the Toorak Handicap.
The five-year-old did just what co-trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman wanted to see in his win in the Group 3 Sandown Stakes (1500m) with a step up to the mile in the $1 million 1600-metre handicap on Caulfield Guineas Day firmly in mind.
“He’s a bit of a quirky old boy though and he’s taken a little while to settle in but now he has, he’s been doing everything right and been really pleasing.”
Desert Lightning ($5) won the Group 1 TAB Classic (1600m) at Trentham in December 2023. A last start third-placing in the Listed Chautauqua Stakes (1200m) has set the gelding up towards what could be Peter Moody’s first win in the Toorak Handicap.
“It was really nice to see him take that improvement from the first up run, Coleman said.
“We still think he’s got a little bit more there to come, which is really, really exciting.
“So, look, he’ll head towards the Toorak now providing he takes the improvement that we think he’s got to come, and that’s a really exciting prospect.
Desert Lightning is rated a $21 chance with betting sites for the Toorak Handicap with recently impressive winner Another Wil
“He just looks like the mile is really his sweet spot, Coleman added. “1400 to 1600 metres looks like the ideal trip for him.”
Luke Nolen took Desert Lightning to the lead at the top of the Sandown straight while race favourite Craig ($2.60) was at the rear of the field but rattled to the line to miss by one-length.
Jockey Jamie Mott said that Craig did not have the speed to go with the pace set soon after the start.
More Racing News
Dan Morton keeps faith with 2024 Railway Stakes mare
Trainer Dan Morton has shrugged aside Super Smink’s horror barrier draw and still thinks she can win the Group 1 Swan Draught-Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot on Saturday. A layer of complexity was added to Super Smink’s Railway Stakes bid after she was handed barrier 18, but Dan Morton is keeping the...
Timing right for Port Lockroy in G1 Railway Stakes bid
He’s one of five interstate raiders and the outsider of the quintet, but co-trainer, Rob Archibald believes there is a sense of timing about Port Lockroy in Saturday’s Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot. Rob Archibald, who shares training duties with Annabel Neasham, says Port Lockroy put himself into Railway Stakes...
Royal task for Gilded Water at local debut
A benchmark race on The Gong undercard will add some Royal flavour to the stand-alone Kembla Grange meeting when a horse owned by His Majesty King Charles III makes his local debut. Four-year-old Gilded Water has been sent to Australia to continue his racing career, having started just four times in the...
Improving trio to fly flag for Godolphin at Kembla Grange
Godolphin doesn’t have a representative in The Gong, but James Cummings is content to rely on a trio of up-and-coming sprinters to carry the stable’s hopes at the stand-alone Kembla Grange meeting. Fleetwood will headline the leading yard’s squad when he resumes in the Group 3 The Warra (1000m), while Pisanello and Restonica contest benchmark...
Jason Collett hoping to find Express lane in The Gong
Jason Collett is resigned to the fact that he will be more reliant on luck than good management as he tries to coax another win out of Territory Express in the $1 million The Gong at Kembla Grange. The Provincial-Midway Championships Final victor in the autumn, Territory Express has a get-back racing pattern...
Mark Walker aims for ‘new’ hometown Cranbourne Cup
Trainer Mark Walker has a good record when in form New Zealand gallopers land in Australia. Walker’s latest ‘import’ is It’s A Wild Night who will have his first Australian outing in the Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m) on Saturday. It’s A Wild Night arrived at Walker’s Cranbourne base just over a week ago...
Trainer Gavin Bedggood chasing Fortune in The Meteorite
Gavin Bedggood hopes the decision to take Oscar’s Fortune to Cranbourne for a midweek gallop will pay off handsomely on Saturday. Oscar’s Fortune runs in the $1 million The Meteorite (1200m), a new ‘slot race’ that Southside Racing, a merged entity of the Cranbourne and Pakenham Clubs, runs for the first time. The former...
Railway Stakes 2024 timing perfect for Baker’s Bel
In-form mare Belclare will need to overcome a wide alley to land her first Australian Group One win in the Railway Stakes at Ascot, and connections believe Nash Rawiller is the perfect man for the job. A two-time victor at the highest level in New Zealand, Belclare joined the Sydney stable of Bjorn...
John Stewart eyes Melbourne with 2024 Japan Cup fancy
Goliath faces one of the toughest tasks in racing this weekend, beating the Japanese at home in their biggest race, but John Stewart is already planning his next moves with his star recruit and Australia is on the itinerary. The ambitious American has quickly become a powerful investor in Australian racing and...
Hedged poised to give The Warra rivals a trim-up
The Magic Millions carnival is the campaign focal point for promising sprinter Hedged, but trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr are hoping he can knock off a feature race along the way. The gelding will resume in the Group 3 The Warra (1000m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday, his first start...
