Imported German stayer Our Ivanhowe is set to make his Australian racing debut in the R A Lee Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday after he was included in the nominations for the Group 3 event.
Our Ivanhowe finished third behind Tallat (pictured) in a barrier trial at Cranbourne on April 27. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell
Our Ivanhowe (previously known as Ivanhowe) was purchased by Team Freedman and connections after he finished a gallant sixth in the Group 1 Japan Cup (2400m) at Tokyo on November 30 last year and the stable has patiently brought the German stayer along ahead of his Australian racing debut.
The Solider Hollow entire made his first public appearance in Australia when he was run off his feet in a jump over 800 metres on the course proper at Flemington on April 17 and co-trainer Lee Freedman revealed after he finished third in a barrier trial over 1190 metres at Cranbourne on April 27 that he would appear at the races in the Group 3 R A Lee Stakes (1600m) at Morphettville this weekend.
“He just came here to do what he did,” Freedman said after the barrier trial.
“He is ready to have a race in a couple of weeks if we want to.
“We are looking at the set weights and penalty race in Adelaide over 1600 metres.”
Our Ivanhowe are yet to determine the exact path that the five-year-old will follow during the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival, but he will be included in the nominations for the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) and Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).
Ivanhowe made his racing debut in Germany in October of 2012 and he stamped himself as a horse to follow when he took out the 2013 edition of Group 2 Oppenheim-Union-Rennen (2212m) before he finished eighth in the Group 1 German Derby (2413m) at Hamburg.
The talented stayer started his 2014 racing season with a win in the Group 2 Gerling Preis (2413m) at Cologne on May 4 and he failed to fire in the Group 2 Grand Prix De Chantilly (2400m) on June 1, but he recorded the biggest win of his racing career to date in the Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Baden (2413m) on September 7.
Ivanhowe failed to fire in the Group 1 Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe (2400m) in France on October 5, but he returned to winning form in the Group 1 Grosser Preis Von Bayern (2414m) at Munich on November 1 before he made the trip to Japan.
Ivanhowe is currently available at 2015 Melbourne Cup odds of $26 with Ladbrokes, while Fame Game ($15) is favourite from Hartnell ($17), Contributer ($21), Protectionist ($21) and Signoff ($21).
