Otago is set to resume racing this Saturday at Bendigo, though fans shouldn’t expect to find him contesting any of the feature events on the card.
Co-trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr have pinpointed an $80,000 benchmark 70 handicap as the ideal starting point for the four-year-old’s comeback, which will be his first race in over 13 months.
The return to Bendigo holds symbolic value—it’s where Otago burst onto the scene with a dominant maiden win over 1300m back in December 2023. Kent says the primary focus this weekend is simply a smooth and healthy return to the races.
“He’s morphed into a beautiful, big, strong four-year-old and he’s probably going to take the run on Saturday given it’s his first run back in over a year,” Kent said.
“Hence, we’re probably going to aim him at the benchmark 70 over 1300 with a claim, hoping that his class might get him there, but realistically he’s going to improve a lot for the run.
“He won on debut at Bendigo over 1300, so we think that suits, but if he gets beaten for a lack of fitness late that won’t perturb us for what we’ve got in store for him.
“As long as he gets back to the races, runs well, hits out properly and pulls up well, then we can look forward to going up in trip second-up.”
Otago, carrying the Roll The Dice silks, is also entered for the $130,000 BM84 over the same distance but is expected to contest the lower-grade event.
Following his Bendigo maiden win, the New Zealand-bred gelding quickly rose through the ranks with a follow-up victory at Flemington that launched him into Australian Guineas contention. He ran fourth as favourite in the CS Hayes Stakes (1400m) before finishing down the field in the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m).
His promising autumn campaign was cut short due to a high-level stress injury, which Kent described as serious but not career-threatening. The stable has taken a cautious and patient approach to his rehabilitation, giving him two jumpouts over 1000m at Cranbourne in March, where he placed sixth and fourth.
“Those injuries typically heal really well and it’s not normally a problem for them, but he’s had a long, slow build-up and you can’t replace race fitness with what you do at home,” Kent said.
“We haven’t crunched the horse at home, he’s just been brought up nice and slowly, everything’s been on the bridle, and I thought he trialled quite nicely at Cranbourne.
“He’s got a really nice benchmark rating and, knowing where his ability’s at, we should be able to go through the grades with him but there are no ambitious plans at this stage.”
Otago adds an extra layer of interest to a strong Bendigo meeting that features the $200,000 Listed Golden Mile (1600m), the $200,000 Listed Bendigo Guineas (1400m), the $150,000 Bendigo Gold Bracelet (1400m), and the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush (1000m).
