Kenedna will face a quality field when she launches her Caulfield Cup campaign in the P B Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield.
Saturday’s Group Two P B Lawrence (1400m) looms as the starting point for a number of potential spring stars including Cox Plate favourite Mystic Journey, evergreen gelding Hartnell and Kenedna who had a highly successful autumn/winter campaign.
In her first preparation for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace after formerly being prepared by Darren Weir, Kenedna won three of her six starts including the Group One Coolmore Legacy Stakes (1600m) in Sydney and the Group One Doomben Cup (2000m) in Brisbane.
The P B Lawrence will be her first start since winning the Group Two P J O’Shea Stakes (2200m) in Brisbane on June 1 and she takes residual fitness into the race.
“She’s going well,” Maher said.
“I think she had about three weeks out and she carried a lot of residual fitness through.
“She will probably want the run first-up but she seems in good order and she just seems to keep improving.”
Maher has Kenedna on a 2019 Caulfield Cup path with the Feehan Stakes, Underwood Stakes and Caulfield Stakes likely lead-up races.
Maher and Eustace will also have Cliff’s Edge in Saturday’s weight-for-age race.
The five-year-old entire was third in the Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) last Saturday week, almost six lengths behind the winner Scales Of Justice, at his first start since last spring.
“He will come on,” Maher said.
“He hadn’t raced for a long time and he’s a big bull.”
The Lindsay Park team of co-trainers David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig is planning to have four runners in the PB Lawrence Stakes field – Fifty Stars, Australian Cup winner Harlem, Sikandarabad and French import Neufbosc who will be making his Australian debut.
