Trainer Murray Baker has revealed that the 2015 The Metropolitan at Royal Randwick on October 3 could be an option for promising stayer Gesemi.
Gesemi and Maygrove will join Mongolian Khan in Australia for the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival. Photo by: Steve Hart
Gesemi was included in the nominations for the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) that were released yesterday, but Baker told Racing Ahead this morning that The Metropolitan is the more likely target for the Ekraar mare after she finished her autumn campaign with four wins from five starts included an impressive victory in the Cornwall Handicap (2200m) at Ellerslie on May 30.
“I am thinking about taking her to Sydney at this stage for The Metrop,” Baker said.
“We will just keep our options open with her.
“She has four of her last five, she took a long time to get going.
“We have reservations because those races were run on wet tracks and we would like to see her perform on a good track.”
Another stayer that will join Gesemi, Australian Derby winner Mongolian Khan and Caulfield Guineas winner Dal Cielo on the plane to Australia will be Maygrove.
Maygrove made his Australian racing debut with a fourth place finish in the Listed Randwick City Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on March 7, but he was sent back to New Zealand after he finished sixth in the Group 3 Manion Cup (2400m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 21.
Baker is hopeful that a return to the Melbourne way of going will help Maygrove return to his best form during the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival and he said that a race like the Listed Slickpix Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield on August 29.
“We took him to Sydney and took a bit of a chance on him, but he has never gone that good right-handed and he races pretty averagely at Ellerslie,” Baker said.
“He had two starts in Sydney and he ran fourth in the first one, but he didn’t fire in the second, so we brought him home, spelled him and he is going good.
“He should start to show this year and he is a good stayer.
“He will step-out at about the same time as Mongolian Khan.
“There is a 1700 metre Listed race or a 1600 metre Handicap race.”
Maygrove has also been included in the 2015 Caulfield Cup nominations and could return to the highest level of racing since he finished eighth behind Puccini and Rising Romance in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie in March of 2014.
