The Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will and J D Hayes have their eyes on a second win in a Victorian slot race with one of their stable favourites Here To Shock.
But first, Here To Shock heads to the Listed Testa Rossa Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday which the stable sees as the ideal pipe-opener for the $1 million The Supernova (1400m) at Pakenham on December 13.
Here To Shock led home a one-two finish in the inaugural running of the Supernova last year and Ben Hayes said The Supernova in two weeks’ time was certainly in the stable’s planning this year.
Lindsay Park Racing owns a slot in the Supernova.
Here To Shock has not raced since finishing sixth in the Group 3 Moonga Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield in October but had a jump-out over 800m at Flemington on November 21, finishing third.
“This should be a nice prep run,” Hayes said.
“We purposely freshened him to target this with the Supernova in mind, and then we might consider going over and trying to go back-to-back in the Group 1 over in New Zealand.
“It’s the kind of race he can be very competitive in.”
After his win in the Supernova last year, Here To Shock was freshened before travelling to New Zealand where he won the Group 1 BCD Group Sprint (1400m) at Te Rapa in February.
The Lindsay Park team has had success on previous hit-and-run missions to New Zealand, claiming the Karaka Million 3YO Classic with Long Leaf in 2017 while Conqueror ran second to Probabeel in the corresponding race 12 months later.
The Hayes brothers are planning on sending Torture, winner of the Listed Debutant Stakes at Caulfield in October, to New Zealand for the Karaka Million 2YO Classic at Ellerslie in January.
Joining Here To Shock in the Testa Rossa Stakes on Saturday will be Run Harry Run who is coming off a first-up win in the Ararat Bowl (1300m) on November 9.
Hayes said Run Harry Run had been freshened for a late tilt at the spring carnival.
“But when we got the heavy track, we decided to be patient and he came out and won the Ararat Bowl, so it was good to get him back in the winner’s stall,” Hayes said.
“He actually has pretty good form behind Globe, and he’s been racing very consistently.
“It’s obviously a big step up in class to what he’s been running in, but he’ll run a nice competitive race again and he’s in great order.”
