Caulfield Guineas placegetter Planet Red will have his return run in a Stakes race at Caulfield.
The Group 2 Autumn Stakes (1400m) on Saturday will be Planet Red’s sole outing in the lead-up to the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on February 28.
The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained three-year-old has not raced since running second to Autumn Boy in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) last October.
Price, chasing a fourth win in the Australian Guineas, conceded Planet Red was a tired horse at the conclusion of his Caulfield Guineas campaign.
“He had five weeks off after the Caulfield Guineas,” Price said.
“When he went into the Caulfield Guineas, he only had a certain amount of energy left in him, but we got it to come together in the last two weeks before that race and he ran super.
“He had five weeks off, but I haven’t got enough horse to do the Space Rider prep.
“Space Rider is going to have three runs into the Australian Guineas, but I’m going to take a punt on Planet Red. He runs in the 1400 metres and then it is three weeks to the Guineas.
“He has improved a little bit as a gelding, but it’s a quick turnaround from the spring.”
Space Rider, who finished 11th in the Caulfield Guineas, resumed with a win in the Group 3 Manfred Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on January 26.
He is heading to the traditional Guineas lead-up, the Group 3 C S Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday week.
The Australian Guineas has been a good race for Price, winning with Light Fantastic (2008), Heart Of Dreams (2009) and Grunt (2018) while Tarzino was narrowly beaten by Palentino in 2016 before an unsuccessful protest was lodged.
He is chasing his first win with Kent Jnr in the race.
“The Australian Guineas has been good to me,” Price said.
“Planet Red will be pretty cherry ripe come the Australian Guineas and I think he’ll run well.”
