The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable has taken the opportunity to give two of their runners a look at Caulfield before an upcoming Group 1 race.
Duke De Sessa and Steinem will represent the stable in the Memsie Stakes (1400m) on Saturday as they kick off their spring campaigns.
Working with Kettle Hill, Duke De Sessa was having his first look at the Caulfield circuit after making his Australian debut when eighth in the Group 1 Doncaster Handicap (1600m) at Randwick in April.
His previous 11 starts had been in Ireland and France where he registered four wins, three of them in Stakes company.
While he had performed well on good surfaces before arriving in Australia, Maher said he is better placed with cut in the ground.
“He’s very straight-forward and he came out here in great order,” Maher said.
“He raced well but didn’t get a lot of luck in the Doncaster and he he’s worked well for this.
“He is an interesting horse. He’s got a lot of ability but does like a bit of give in the tracks.”
Duke De Sessa has won from 1600m up to 2400m and has placed at 3000m, but Maher said his program would be determined by track conditions.
Maher has not ruled out a tilt at the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington in November with nominations for that race closing next Tuesday.
“He has got out in trip, so he could be a Melbourne Cup horse, but we’ll just see how he gets through his first run and what the tracks are like and work it out,” Maher said.
“He’s certainly got the ability. He relaxes, he’s clean-winded and is the right type of horse.”
Maher said Steinum, like Duke De Sessa, would likely to find the 1400m trip too short first-up.
Steinum will be having her first start since running tenth in the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington in March, but she did win a Cranbourne trial on August 7 before suffering a slight setback.
“I was hoping to kick her off a couple of weeks ago, but she had a little set-back, but she’s over that now,” Maher said.
“She trialled up well at Cranbourne, but she had a bit of a bump, so we’ll kick her off on Saturday.”
Maher has booked Ethan Brown to ride Duke De Sessa with John Allen on Steinem.
