The Hawkesbury Gold Cup wasn’t originally on the radar for Sea King, but trainer Matthew Dunn hoped it could serve as another important stepping stone in the gelding’s comeback from a tendon injury.
The 2024 Bendigo Cup winner went amiss after finishing midfield at his first start for Dunn in that year’s Christmas Cup (2400m) at Randwick and spent 15-months on the sidelines.
Saturday will mark his third run back, albeit a week later than planned after he was scratched from the Brisbane meeting last weekend when the track deteriorated to heavy.
While the 1600m of the Hawkesbury Gold Cup is below Sea King’s preferred distance range, Dunn is hoping to see a positive performance as he looks to push onto longer races.
“He’s still very competitive on the track and keen to do his work,” Dunn said.
“The horse is still there, it’s just a matter of being nice and patient. I’m lucky I’ve got a great bunch of owners that are happy to roll with me.
“Ideally, we wouldn’t be going all the way to Sydney for a race that is short of his right trip, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.
“There isn’t going to be much on for him here (in Queensland). We’ve had a lot of wet weather and we’re trying to find the right track surface to build his foundation and get him back to where he needs to be.”
Sam Clipperton will partner Sea King from barrier one, and pending his performance, Dunn will take the horse back to Queensland for the Chairman’s Handicap (2000m) at Doomben on May 16, or potentially consider a seven-day turnaround into the Gosford Gold Cup (2100m).
Longer-term, the Brisbane Cup (3200m) is an option if Sea King can recapture his former spark.
“He will probably come home after Saturday. If not, he could stay down for the Gosford Cup. We’ll see how he goes Saturday, how he comes through it, and work it out,” Dunn said.
“But probably the Chairman’s will be his next run over 2000 metres. There’s also the Hollindale Stakes, but it’s a weight-for-age race and his rating isn’t that high anymore.”
The $250,000 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) is one of four stakes races on Saturday’s stand-alone program and has attracted a capacity field of 16 headed by Coolmore Classic placegetter Vivy Air and consistent Victorian raider Taken for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
