Red Dream set for Stayers Cup

kerry parker
Kerry Parker will have Red Dream at Randwick and Dark Dream in the Group One Qld Derby at Doomben.

Red Dream has taken time to run into winning form but now he has, the six-year-old has earned his first start at Randwick for three years in the Stayers’ Cup.

His trainer Kerry Parker’s main focus will be on stablemate Dark Dream in Saturday’s Queensland Derby but he will keep a keen eye on the Randwick meeting.

Red Dream tends to find his niche late in a preparation and Parker will give him a break after he runs in the 3200m-staying test, one of two races over the distance at Randwick with the other the Sydney Cup.

Red Dream sparked this winning sequence when he dropped back from city grade to Nowra in late April. He then ticked off victories at Warwick Farm and Gosford.

“Nowra definitely helped. He got a bit of confidence out of that and it depends how the race is run,” Parker said.

“If they’re slowly run before they zip home in 34-and-a-half (seconds), he just can’t do that.”

While tempo is crucial, Parker also expects Red Dream to benefit from an 8kg weight advantage on Destiny’s Kiss, the $3 favourite with the TAB on Thursday.

Like Destiny’s Kiss, Red Dream ($11) is comfortable on wet tracks with Randwick in the heavy range on Thursday.

“He’s eligible for the weaker races but you don’t get too many two mile races to roll the dice at,” Parker said.

Parker will be with Red Dream’s owners Mary Jane Basson and Jessica Wilson at Doomben on Saturday when their star three-year-old Dark Dream runs in the Derby.

Parker said Dark Dream, who won the Group Three Rough Habit Plate (2000m) on May 12, had recovered from what he described as a forgive-run in the Group Three Grand Prix Stakes (2200m) at Doomben on May 26.

Dark Dream was third, a length off the winner Heavenly Thought, despite over-racing and twisting a plate.

“Put a line through it, and saying that he wasn’t beaten far,” Parker said.

Dark Dream was the joint $5.50 second elect alongside Heavenly Thought and Lucky For All in a TAB market led by Live And Free ($4.80) on Thursday.

“John O’Shea’s horse (Live and Free) looks to be a real progressive type,” Parker said.

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