Leading Victorian trainer Darren Weir admits that Kings Will Dream is at long odds of ending Winx’s extraordinary run of wins when they meet in the 2018 Group 1 $500,000 Seppelt Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Kings Will Dream, above, will be taking on Winx in the 2018 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Winx looks unbeatable again as she chases her twenty-eighth straight win on Saturday while Weir said that European import Kings Will Dream will be using the Turnbull Stakes as an important lead up run for the Group 1 $5m Stella Artois Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield in a fortnight.
“Not in my wildest dreams am I expecting that to happen,” Weir told the Herald Sun referring to Kings Will Dream’s chances of downing Winx’s blue and white colours.
“It’s not about the race but it’s more about getting him ready for the Caulfield Cup. Running in the Turnbull is the path we’ve chosen to get him to the Caulfield Cup and I’m looking for him to hit the line strongly.”
Winx had won both of her two 2018 Spring Carnival runs to date as she motors towards claiming a fourth successes win in the Group 1 $5m Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley on October 27.
The Chris Waller trained mare resumed from a spell for a first up win in the Group 1 $500,000 Winx Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on August 18 before producing a typical dominant win in the Group 1 $500,000 Colgate Optic White (George Main) Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on September 15.
Kings Will Dream worked his way up through the grades with five wins for Weir in the first half of the year before a spell and resumed in the Spring for a first up fourth to Showtime in the Group 2 $200,000 Sir John Monash P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 18.
Kings Will Dream’s next two runs in Group 1 company were eye catches and he was installed the favourite for the 2018 Caulfield Cup following his third to Humidor in the Group 1 $1m New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield and his second to Grunt in the Group 1 $750,000 PFD Food Services Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.
Winx is well into the red at $1.16 for the Turnbull Stakes with Ladbrokes.com.au, well ahead of Kings Will Dream and Grunt at $12 while Kings Will Dream is the current $4.50 favourite for the Caulfield Cup.
