South Australian sprinters will be out in force at Flemington as they try to take home the Listed Kensington Stakes.
Parsifal, Free Of Debt and Tequila Time will make the trip over from Adelaide for Saturday’s race over 1000m while Mileva and Shamino are in the care of now Melbourne-based Phillip Stokes but have done a lot of their racing in South Australia.
The Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas-trained Tequila Time enters Saturday’s race in sparking form, looking to notch a winning hat-trick for the campaign.
Successful over 1000m at his two runs this campaign, Tequila Time is returning to the form he showed as a two-year-old when he won the Group 3 Breeders’ Stakes and the Group 3 Sires’ Produce Stakes at Morphettville before losing his way.
Still Tequila Time has won eight of his 32 starts and just shy of $500,000 in prize money.
Gluyas said tackling the straight on Saturday will give the stable an indication on whether they may return later in the campaign.
“Whether the straight suits him, we’ll find that out,” Gluyas told RSN.
“He’s been there once before in his early days but that didn’t quite work out, but he’s put his hand up to have a crack.”
Parsifal and Free Of Debt hold an edge in the handicappers rating as does Mileva and Shamino, but the form Tequila Time is in at present gives Gluyas heart that he will be competitive on Saturday.
“If things go right with the form that he’s in given that he’s not carrying any weight, he will be around them,” Gluyas said.
“He’s been a good horse for us. He was good as a two-year-old then had some problems which have been ongoing which may have limited him in terms of reaching the heights of what he might have reached, but this time in he’s an athlete that is in really good form and is ticking along nicely.”
Stablemate and younger half-sister Another Award joined Tequila Time on the trip from Adelaide to run in the Des Gleeson Handicap (1400m).
“The jury is still out on whether she runs out 1400 metres, but we feel she’s getting stronger and will run the trip,” Gluyas said.
