Flemington trainer Mark Kavanagh is going to a mid-winter meeting at Moonee Valley on Saturday with high Spring Carnival expectations for his two first starters Magicool and Zimbabwe.
Trainer Mark Kavanagh, above, has Spring hopes for his first starters Magicool and Zimbabwe. Photo by Taron Clarke.
The two well-bred youngsters will debut in the $80,000 Aquanus Foods Handicap for two year olds over 1200m but if the plan comes together Kavanagh is hoping to saddle them up as three year olds in the Group 1 $1.5m AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington on November 1.
“I’m hopeful that they’re going to turn into three-year-old stayers,” Kavangh told RSN’s Racing Ahead.
“They’ve taken their time, they’re supposed to be later maturing horses, so we’ve given them that time.”
“Winter racing has never been an aim of the stable and these sort of horses we hope will measure up as three-year-olds in better races down the line.”
Kavanagh will follow the same path he did with his former top three year olds Whobegotyou and Super Cool who both went on to finish second in the Victoria Derby.
Whobegotyou was runner up to Rebel Raider in 2008 after debuting at Geelong in May of that year while Supercool ran second to the Anthony Cummings trained Fiveandahalfstar in 2012 also after a Geelong May debut.
“Whobegotyou and Super Cool were horses that came along as very late two-year-olds, had a race or two disappeared and then came back – Shamoline Warrior was another one – and did a lot of things in the spring,” Kavanagh said.
“We’re going to work along that path and hopefully something will turn up.”
Magicool is a gelding by Fastnet Rock out of the Galileo mare Perfect Truth and will be ridden by Craig Newitt while Zimbabwe is by Street Cry out of the Danehill Dancer mare Chinamora with Damian Lane to ride.
In early markets with Ladbrokes.com.au, Magicool is quoted at $8.50 while Zimbabwe is marked as a $11 chance with neither youngster showing any barrier trial form.
Victoria’s leading trainer Darren Weir will saddle up Symphonix who has been installed the $2.70 favourite following a win at Ballarat last October and a first up win at Donald before running second as favourite in the $130,000 VOBIS Gold Betfair Classic (1300m) at Swan Hill on June 6.
