Megablast set for Australian stint this spring
PUKEOHE trainer Nigel Tiley is keen on another trip across the Tasman with his smart stayer Megablast.
Tiley will target Sydney as the preferred destination for the six-year-old, but the trainer will have a better idea of the pathway following its resumption in the Bridges Insurance 1600 at Ellerslie on Saturday.
“Plan A is to race him in the open handicap over a mile on Pakuranga Hunt Cup day and that will then decide whether we go to Australia with him,” Tiley said.
“If he didn’t look like he was coming up well enough to go then Plan B would be to find another race for him before the Livamol Classic.
“He’s looking good at this stage though and we would like to have a look at the Metropolitan in Sydney with him and then the St Leger over 2600 metres a couple of weeks later.
“The tracks in Sydney should suit him. He copes on top of the ground, but he is so much better with the cut out of it.”
A seven-time winner, Megablast has not raced since a two-start Victorian campaign in June when the horse finished runner-up at Moonee Valley and eighth at Flemington.
Tiley said the conditions on that trip were unsuitable.
“The tracks were too firm for him in Melbourne,” he said.
“Even the day he ran second at Moonee Valley it was chipping out on top, but it was really hard underneath.”
Should Megablast perform well in Sydney, there is a chance he could return to Melbourne if the conditions permit.
Tiley added: “If he’s going well and there was a bit of rain around then we could look at the Moonee Valley Gold Cup.”