Trainer Mick Price is realistic about the chances of Sabaj and Planet Red in this Saturday’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, acknowledging they need all factors to align for a victory, but he is committed to giving them their best possible shot.
The Cranbourne conditioner, operating alongside Michael Kent Jnr, has diligently worked to ensure the pair are sufficiently sharp for the $1 million race over 1400 metres.
While their primary objectives lie over longer distances later in the spring, Price has adapted their training routines leading into their second-up attempts and is content with their response.
‘I cut their work down to half-mile (800m), home ‘three’ (600m) on the grass and they were both perky,’ Price commented on their workout on Saturday morning.
‘Both of those horses, their best distance is 1600 and we’re trying to win a 1400-metre race with them, so I need them jumping up and down a little bit.
‘They’re nice and fresh and they should show up at the end of 1400.’
Planet Red and Sabaj made their seasonal reappearances in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) on August 29, finishing seventh and last respectively in the twelve-strong field that Beiwacht won.
The Memsie Stakes marked the initial phase of Planet Red’s campaign towards the $10 million Group 1 Golden Eagle (1400m) on October 31, while Sabaj’s main ambition is the $2 million Five Diamonds (1800m) seven days thereafter.
Both horses are set to progress to those feature events via the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) on October 10, and Price indicated that this weekend’s race is the ideal preparatory run for that target.
‘That (1400m) is not their ideal distance in a Group 1 handicap on top of the ground where they might run 1:22-something if it’s a good-run race,’ Price stated. ‘But this is the race we want to use to go to the Toorak and they’re both going well.’
Planet Red and Sabaj are among 24 acceptors for the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, with Lady Shenandoah, Sepals, and Angel Capital also expected to feature in the line-up.
This is one of two $1 million Group 1 races scheduled at Caulfield this Saturday, the other being the Underwood Stakes (1800m), which has attracted 15 nominations including prominent contenders such as Cosmic Crusader, Aeliana, Birdman, Buckaroo, and Lindermann.
Considering a punt on the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes? Check out the comprehensive racing betting markets available at betting sites for the best odds.
