Lindsay Park is in negotiations with slot holders for The Everest with two of their runners
Lindsay Park is in negotiations with slot holders for The Everest with two of their Group One sprint winners.
Senior trainer David Hayes said he had opened negotiations in an effort to get starts in the $10 million sprint with Redkirk Warrior and Vega Magic.
Redkirk Warrior won the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington first-up in March while Vega Magic was a first-up winner of The Goodwood at Morphettville on May 20.
Hayes said both horses would be trained for a first-up shot at 2017 The Everest over 1200m at Randwick in October, if they gained a ticket to run.
“The owners don’t have a ticket but if we could get a deal it would be great to have two horses,” Hayes said.
“We’re looking at The Everest because it’s eight times bigger than any sprint we have in Australia.
“You miss a couple of weight-for-age races which wouldn’t be a worry as they could then run at Flemington before travelling to Hong Kong.
“There hasn’t been a deal struck but when they’re fully in work the people that have tickets I’ve invited up to Lindsay Park to watch them work and then they might be able to do a deal.
“If a ticket holder could pick up a first-up Newmarket winner or a first-up Goodwood winner, I’m sure they would beat most two or three-year-olds.”
Hayes said if Redkirk Warrior was overlooked for a slot in The Everest then he would switch his attention to the weight-for-age races.
He said the $1 million Group One Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on September 2 would be an ideal target.
The Memsie received a significant prize money boost in a recent Racing Victoria announcement to kick off the Melbourne spring.
Although Redkirk Warrior was one of the top fancies for the Hong Kong Derby before his arrival in Australia, Hayes doubts the gelding would press on to the Cox Plate.
“It might not be the year to tackle the Cox Plate against Winx at weight-for-age,” he said.
“But you need the carriages circling in case something goes wrong with her.”
