Flemington battle for Lindsay Park trio
An off-season Flemington race will kick start what shapes to be a long campaign for the durable Jacquinot Bay.
The Lindsay Park-trained eight-year-old will be joined by stablemates Petrology and Guest Of Honour in the Rod Johnson Handicap over 1400m.
Saturday’s race is the third leg of the VRC-CRV Winter Championship which has a final over 1600m at Flemington on July 9.
Co-trainer David Hayes said the final was Jacquinot Bay’s first major assignment this campaign.
“He’s usually a horse that has somewhere between 10 and 14 runs in a preparation so we haven’t got him fully wound up but he’s had a nice build up,” Hayes said.
“He’ll start on Saturday and run in another lead-up race on his way through to the final.”
Jacquinot Bay is a veteran of 43 starts and began his career with the late Guy Walter in Sydney.
He switched to Lindsay Park in 2014 and in two campaigns has had 24 starts for the new stable but has been winless since February 2015.
Hayes held out high hopes for Petrology after he took out the Sandown Guineas in 2014 but the four-year-old failed to recapture that form last spring.
He was gelded at the end of his last campaign and finally found winning form when successful at Caulfield two starts back.
But Petrology was back to his old ways finishing down the track at Sandown on May 28.
“He won well two starts back but he raced a bit fresh last time,” Hayes said.
“I think he will be better off here.”
Guest Of Honour, who came to Australia with Marco Botti for the 2014 spring carnival, has failed to place in 10 starts for Lindsay Park.
He was ninth last start at Sandown on soft ground on May 28.
“He’s been disappointing and it was a poor run last time,” Hayes said.
Early betting rates Jacquinot Bay as the best of the Lindsay Park trio at $13.
Petrology and Guest Of Honour are both $18 chances with last start Flemington winner Jimando the $4.40 favourite.