Churchill Dancer’s affinity for straight track racing at Flemington means he is likely to head back there on New Year’s Day.
Churchill Dancer provided co-trainers David Hayes and Tom Dabernig with the second leg of a double at Flemington on Saturday to put himself in the mix for the Standish Handicap (1200m).
The son of Churchill Downs has raced over the Flemington 1200m course on five occasions with Saturday’s win in the Fiesta Star Handicap his third victory.
Dabernig said the Group Three Standish was the logical next step for the gelding and a drop from the 60kg he carried to victory on Saturday was enticing.
“He’s got a real liking for the straight and his coat has finally come right,” Dabernig said.
“I think we might have to consider a race like the Standish with him now.
“We’ll see how he pulls up but he’s a pretty sound horse but that’s where we’ll probably head.”
The Hayes-Dabernig combination has prepared seven winners since fires swept through Hayes’ Lindsay Park property at Creightons Creek in north-eastern Victoria last Tuesday night.
“We were very lucky as we had a good fire plan in place but some of our neighbours weren’t so lucky,” Dabernig said.
“They lost the majority of their farms and some livestock but we didn’t have any people or horses injured.
“We lost about 300 acres, mainly just fencing, but it was business as usual.
“We were lucky it didn’t affect any of the stable areas or the tracks and we didn’t miss a day’s work.”
The stable’s other winner on Saturday, two-year-old filly Claudia Jean, is now the third favourite for next month’s $2 million Magic Millions Classic at the Gold Coast.
