By any measure, the Group One Randwick Guineas is the premier three-year-old race in Australia this weekend.
But that isn’t why Peter Gelagotis has kept his quality colt Hvasstan in Melbourne for the easier option of Friday night’s Group Two Alister Clark Stakes at Moonee Valley.
“We’ll be up there in Sydney in a couple of weeks giving them all a good look at us,” Gelagotis said.
“But at this stage this is the race that suits us best.
“The distance is right, the timing is right and our horse is right.”
Hvasstan produced the run of the race in the Australian Guineas at Flemington earlier this month, coming from last with a blistering final 600m that carried him into fourth place behind the winner Ferlax.
That was the second run of an autumn campaign whose ultimate goal is the Australian Derby.
“All I wanted to see in his first two runs was a sign that he’d come back after the spring,” Gelagotis said.
“His first run was OK but his last run was just what we wanted to see.”
Gelagotis said the 2040m of the Alister Clark would be a far better option than the 1600m of the Randwick Guineas which will be run at Warwick Farm.
“It’s a better progression to the Rosehill Guineas, and then to the Derby,” he said.
“We know he will stay and we know he’s going well, so really we couldn’t be much happier.”
In a slightly disappointing field of seven in the Alister Clark, Hvasstan’s obvious danger is Sheer Talent who finished just ahead of him in the Australian Guineas and who is also on a Rosehill Guineas path.
