The Lindsay Park team has decided to split their two-year-olds from a race at Flemington with one heading interstate for a contest at Scone.
Impressive Warrnambool debut winner La Pleine Lune heads to Scone on Friday to contest the Inglis 2YO Challenge (1200m) while Ben, Will and J D Hayes will rely on Sneaky Sunrise in the Sir Eugene Gorman Handicap (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday.
La Pleine Lune romped to a debut nine-length victory at Warrnambool on the final day of the Carnival and Ben Hayes said the extra prize money on offer and a potential trip to Queensland were pivotal in making their decision to head to Scone.
“If he runs well there, there’s some nice races for him in Queensland,” Hayes said.
“When you’ve got nice races like the Scone race to head towards where he will be one of the favourites and hard to beat, we’ve got to head in that direction.”
Hayes said La Pleine Lune was a laid-back young horse that takes everything in his stride and may eventually find his way to Hong Kong, where he is owned.
“In a funny way, he’s sort of crept up on us and been doing everything well,” Hayes said.
“He’s a horse owned by a Hong Kong client of ours and if he keeps performing, he’ll probably look to end up in Hong Kong.
“He needs to run again, and Victor is a great client of ours but depending on how he runs, he could be a serious horse in the spring and Victor would be equally happy to keep him here.”
With La Pleine Lune heading north, Sneaky Sunrise remains at Flemington chasing her maiden win.
After a debut second to recent city winner Snack Bar, Sneaky Sunrise came from last to finish midfield in the Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) at her most recent outing.
“She was very unlucky at Flemington,” Hayes said.
“She’s drawn a good barrier and if we get a better run in transit, it could be a different story for a horse that we’ve always really liked.
“She’s by The Autumn Sun and we’re seeing those fillies coming out.
“She’ll be really good when she gets beyond a mile, so 1400 metres is right up her alley.”
