The promising mare Honey Flower is in line to join a growing band of Victorian gallopers looking to next month’s Hawkesbury and Scone feature meetings for an elusive stakes victory.
Honey Flower is entered for an 1100m mares handicap at Caulfield on Saturday, but assistant trainer Clinton McDonald said she might miss that race in favour of the rich NSW meetings.
“She’s probably going to find the best mares races a touch strong for her, that’s why she’s in at Caulfield,” McDonald said.
“She looks suited there but we could skip Melbourne altogether.
A Flemington Listed winner last spring, Honey Flower resumed with a handy fifth to Ready To Rip in Listed company at Caulfield last month.
In her only run since she had little luck when fifth to City Of Song at Moonee Valley two weeks ago.
“She’s getting fitter and she’s running well,” McDonald said.
“We’ve just got to find the right race for her.”
The McDonald team has identified the Listed Darley Crown (1300m) at Hawkesbury on May 4 and the Listed Dark Jewel Classic (1400m)at Scone two weeks later as likely targets for the mare.
Among several other runners headed for the same meetings is last weekend’s Caulfield winner Speediness is also headed for the same meetings. .
After finishing second at the Hawkesbury and Scone meetings as a three-year-old, Speediness suffered a mishap the following spring that restricted him to only one run for the campaign, resuming the following autumn in career-best form.
But the five-year-old returned to his winning ways at Caulfield last Saturday, prompting trainer Colin Scott to have another crack at the NSW meetings with the horse that represents one-third of his team.
