Group One winning gelding War Machine will be seen in an early feature sprint when he lines up in the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) this Friday night.
Usually run at Moonee Valley, this year’s edition will be staged under lights at Pakenham with the Moonee Valley track currently under reconstruction.
War Machine announced himself as one of the top sprinters in the country when winning the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) during the winter, before resuming in the spring with an equally impressive victory in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m) carrying 60kg.
The brilliance of those wins saw War Machine gain a slot in The Everest, where he started third favourite behind Hong Kong champion Ka Ying Rising, before finishing down the track there and again in the Russell Balding Stakes on heavy ground prior to being spelled.
Lindsay Park have given War Machine two jump-outs ahead of his return, winning his latest heat at Werribee under a hold and giving Ben, Will & JD Hayes confidence he has taken no ill effects from his spring campaign.
“He’s very good, and he’s on track to run in the Australia Stakes on January 23rd,” JD Hayes said.
“The Sydney trips didn’t quite go to plan. The thing we’re holding onto is how brilliant he was first time down the straight, off that Queensland freshen as well.
“We’re really happy with the order he’s presenting and trialling up in, and I thought at Werribee on Friday he showed us he was ready to run a really good race first up.”
An official rating of 114 has made War Machine trickier to place, but Hayes said options remain open moving forward.
“We’ll sort of see how he goes in the Australia Stakes and then we’re largely going to target him towards that traditional path through the autumn,” Hayes said.
“With his rating, he’s got to stick to those weight-for-age races, and we do think he’s probably going to be better suited getting slightly out in trip.”
Hayes said the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) in February could be an option, while the stable will also consider the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) following his explosive Flemington straight-track win in the Gilgai.
“It is certainly something that we will consider,” Hayes said.
“I don’t know what weight he’d get but he has got a good track record down the straight.
“So it’s definitely something worth considering, but we’ll see how he goes on Friday and pick the races accordingly for him.”
