NZ mare to make Aussie debut at Caulfield
New Zealand mare Carnival is set to make her Australian debut for new trainers at Caulfield.
A four-time winner from 13 starts, including one at stakes level, Carnival runs for Flemington father-and-son training partners Russell and Scott Cameron in Saturday’s Group Three Ladbrokes Odds Boost Handicap.
It will be her first start since finishing fourth at Riccarton in April when trained by Kevin and Pam Hughes.
Kevin Hughes cited weight as a major contributing factor in sending Carnival to Melbourne and thinks she will be competitive at the highest level.
“If she carried on here, she’s not a big horse, she would get far too much weight and there are plenty of opportunities over there,” Hughes told NZ Racing Desk.
“I think she will go okay. I haven’t heard a lot from Scott, but I think everything has been going well and they are very pleased with her.
“She was right on the mark when she left here and she doesn’t take a lot of galloping to keep her right.
“I think she will measure up.”
Carnival was due to run at Riccarton earlier this month but transport problems hindered those plans and instead she had a trial before leaving for Melbourne.
“In her trial she was really good, right on the mark and the final gallop she had was as good as I have seen I’d say,” Hughes said.