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Sydney Option For Brave Centaur
Matamata seven-year-old Brave Centaur is in line for a trip to Australia later this year.
While Melbourne becomes the centre of most attention in the spring, the gelding’s trainer is looking at another option.
“We’ve got limited choices with him and he’ll probably run (at Te Rapa) on Saturday and we’ll look at the Makfi and then he might go to Sydney,” trainer Lance Noble said.
“He’s a very good and honest horse, but he’s a notch away from the best and we could look at a couple of Group three races for him.”
Brave Centaur has won seven of his 27 starts and has placed in both the Gr.1 Captain Cook Stakes and the Gr.2 Coupland’s Bakeries Mile.
Queen Elizabeth For Derby Placegetter
Queensland Derby runner-up Pinstripe Lane has been gelded since his winter Group One placing and will have a staying target during the Melbourne Cup carnival.
Troy Corstens, now training in partnership with his father Leon, said Pinstripe Lane was progressing nicely after a break and would trial in a couple of weeks.
He has been nominated for the Caulfield Cup, but Corstens said he was mindful that might be a bit ambitious.
“I reckon he’s a real Queen Elizabeth Stakes sort of horse,” Corstens said. “The final day (of the Melbourne Cup carnival) at Flemington, I reckon that will be right up his alley and that’s our main aim at this stage.
“It’s quite hard to line up Queensland Derby form going into the spring. You don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself, because sometimes they don’t stack up.”
Corstens believes the Caulfield Cup will come around too soon for Pinstripe Lane who is building nicely towards his return.
“He didn’t have that long off and being a gelding this time in, he’s a lot more clean winded than he was,” he said.
“But we’ve still got to get some miles into his legs to give him a good base (of fitness) to head into the spring.”
Pride Prepared To Be Patient
Unless the rain comes, trainer Joe Pride is prepared to rest Tiger Tees despite his first-up Group Three win at Flemington.
Pride entered the Group One winning half-brother to Hallmark Stud stallion Super Easy in the Missile Stakes at Randwick and the Aurie’s Star in Melbourne on Saturday and chose the latter hoping for a softer track.
Tiger Tees did not get his preferred surface, but the Galaxy winner’s class got him over the line.
“It was great and I had a tear in my eye,” Pride said. “When a plan comes off it’s always a pleasing result. I don’t mind if he doesn’t race again this spring.“It’s all about the autumn with him and I’m not going to bang him around against the good sprinters on hard tracks.”
The win was another box ticked on Pride’s bucket list with the Aurie’s Star the trainer’s first straight track win.
“I’ve been trying to win a race down the straight since I took Red Oog there about 10 years ago,” Pride said.