Peter Snowden has confirmed Group 1 winner Huetor will run first-up in the $2 million The Ingham with regular jockey Kerrin Mcevoy booked for the ride.
The six-year-old pleased the stable with his closing second to the well-performed Eleven Eleven in a Canterbury barrier trial on Tuesday to shore up plans to target the rich summer mile at Randwick on Saturday week.
Formerly known as the Villiers Stakes, The Ingham (1600m) will be Huetor’s first start since June after plans to aim him towards the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate were dashed when he suffered a serious eye issue on the eve of the spring carnival.
Once the problem was rectified, Snowden said Huetor’s rapid progress and the increasing likelihood that a strong field would result in him receiving a competitive weight in The Ingham had convinced them to run.
“He was very fresh and I thought, knowing my luck with this bloke, if I put him out he’s probably going to go through a fence or something and get hurt,” Peter Snowden said.
“It’s do-able. It’s not a quick preparation, he has been in the stable for a long time.
“The way he has worked over the last month and the way he trialled yesterday (Tuesday) really franked for me that he is up to running in it.
“I just thought, if nothing else, he can go to the race to stir the pot again, get the adrenaline going and get him back on track.”
Huetor has been installed into the latest TAB fixed odds markets for The Ingham as a $5 second pick, behind progressive Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained import Nugget.
Dajraan and Riodini, both feature race winners for Tulloch Lodge last start, are the only other contenders at single-figure odds at $8 apiece.
