Up-and-coming galloper Taken will face seasoned Group 1 performers when he lines up in The Supernova at Pakenham.
Prepared by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, the progressive runner will attempt to stretch his winning streak to six in the second of Southside Racing’s two slot races on Saturday.
But the task is far from straightforward, with Taken set to meet proven competitors such as Here To Shock and Private Eye over the 1400-metre trip.
“It will be hard to beat Here To Shock and Private Eye at the weight scale, but we’ve got a progressive horse, and I know for one thing, he is a winner,” Kent Jnr said.
“He’s yet to miss a place in 10 starts, five wins and five placings, so he doesn’t like losing.”
Taken produced four consecutive wins across late autumn and winter before resuming with another success at Caulfield on November 15, scoring in a benchmark 84 over 1400m with Ethan Brown aboard.
Kent Jnr acknowledged there were challenges ahead on Saturday, including sticking to 1400 metres for his second-up run, but part-owner Carl Holt’s involvement made the decision clear-cut.
“We do think his best trip is a mile and Ethan thinks he may even get further,” Kent Jnr said.
“Carl Holt is a big player in the game. He has a lot of horses, a lot of luck in our stables and he’s got a slot and was very keen to run.
“It fits in nicely to his program. He has won his last five, so he had earned his shot and we’re four weeks from his win at Caulfield.
“He’s nice and fresh to stay at the 1400 (metres) and Pakenham is a beautiful track for him.”
With Taken continuing to rise through the grades, Kent Jnr admitted the gelding’s ultimate ceiling remains unknown.
“He was a relatively inexperienced find in New Zealand and I don’t know where his ceiling is,” Kent Jnr said.
“His wins at Flemington in the winter were quite impressive, but they were in moderate class and the fact that he came back and won first-up in open class suggests he might have gone to the next level.”
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