Lindsay Park will be hoping to end a long drought in the Wakeful Stakes when they saddle up a pair of contenders at Flemington on Saturday.
The stable has not won the race since 2000, when Lolita Star scored under the guidance of the late Peter Hayes.
The Wakeful Stakes (2000m) is traditionally viewed as the premier lead-up to the Group 1 VRC Oaks (2500m), run five days later on Victoria Derby Day. Last year’s Cox Plate placegetter Treasurethe Moment completed the Wakeful–Oaks double.
Lindsay Park most recently lifted the Oaks in 2020 with Personal, who had finished runner-up in the Wakeful when trained by Tom Dabernig and Ben Hayes.
This year, the newest iteration of the Hayes team — Ben, Will and JD — send out Ethereum Girl and Perfect Night in their bid to reclaim the Wakeful.
Ethereum Girl resumed after a break with two runs, including a Stakes win in Adelaide in July. She was fourth in the Thousand Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Sandown before finishing eighth in the Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield.
Ben Hayes felt the tempo did her no favours last start. “She was only second up into the Thousand Guineas and that race shape probably didn’t suit her when they walked and sprinted home,” Hayes said.
“She’s stepping up to the 2000 (metres). She’s third up now and we’ve always wanted to get her out in trip, so we’re looking forward to seeing how she goes.
“She galloped here (Flemington) this morning. She was good, she had a good look around and just floated over the last 200 metres.
“If she’s able to run well, or win, then we would definitely consider the Oaks.”
Both Ethereum Girl and Perfect Night will be entered for the VRC Oaks, with nominations closing Friday.
Perfect Night is still a maiden but has shown promise, finishing a narrow second at Geelong before being luckless at Bendigo.
“She’s a maiden filly that is needing ground and at her last start was desperately unlucky,” Hayes said.
“She does look like she’s needing the 2000 (metres), so we thought we’d have a throw at the stumps with her.”
