Lindsay Park’s new stayer Banker’s Choice is poised to follow a tried and tested path toward the Caulfield Cup, with connections leaning towards a Queensland campaign rather than a start in Saturday’s Doomben Cup (2000m).
Although he holds a nomination for the Group 1 feature at Doomben, the Hayes training trio – Ben, Will, and JD – are more likely to target the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1800m) at Eagle Farm next weekend, followed by the Group 2 Q22 (2200m) two weeks later.
Banker’s Choice already holds a ballot exemption for the Caulfield Cup thanks to his Mornington Cup win last month, and the stable believes Queensland offers the ideal lead-up to the spring.
“We were going to run in the Andrew Ramsden, but then we had a discussion with the whole team,” Ben Hayes said.
“He’s qualified for the Caulfield Cup, so we thought we’d go up to Queensland instead.
“There are some nice options up there for him. There’s the Q22, there are some good set-weights and penalties races.
“He’s nominated in the Doomben Cup. We’ll have a look at the race and weigh everything up, but he’ll potentially run a week later.
“There’s an 1800-metre race, and then we can go into the Q22 and then we’ll aim him at the Caulfield Cup, just like they did with Without A Fight.”
Without A Fight famously used the same Queensland lead-ups to launch a successful campaign in 2023, where he claimed both the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup.
Previously trained by Mike Moroney and Glen Thompson, Banker’s Choice joined Lindsay Park after his Mornington Cup triumph and has made a strong impression since arriving.
“He’s already in the Caulfield Cup and everything will be planned towards heading to that race,” Hayes said.
“We’ll look at giving him a bit of a freshen up there, if it ever stops raining, and then he’d probably do the weight-for-age path into the Caulfield Cup.
“He’s a very straight-forward horse and he arrived to us in great order.
“Fingers crossed. It’s a great opportunity.”
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