Trainer Colin Little has found it difficult sourcing a suitable race for the lightly raced Vegas Knight.
Convinced Vegas Knight wants 1600m, Little had to resort racing the recently turned three-year-old against older horses when breaking his maiden status at Pakenham last month.
Little has since pored over the race programs looking for a 1600m race for three-year-olds, but can’t find one in Victoria until late September.
He had Vegas Knight engaged in a benchmark 64 race against older horses at Sandown last Sunday over 1600m, but considered it a better option to run against his own age over 1400m in Saturday’s VRC Member Helen Saffin Handicap.
“In July he had to run in an open maiden because there was no two-year-old race over a suitable distance and there’s no three-year-old mile race in August,” Little said.
“There’s a 1500 (metre) at Moonee Valley in early September but it’s almost three months before there’s a suitable 1600-metre race for a horse crying out for that distance.
“I’ve got to run him on Saturday. I could have run him last Sunday, but that was against older horses.”
Having won his maiden over 1600m, Little wanted to give the gelding another try at the trip against his own age before a break.
Despite holding a nomination in the Caulfield Guineas, Little thinks Vegas Knight will be spelling when the Group One race is contested in October.
“I’m very happy with him. He’s a nice horse that is training on quite well,” Little said.
“After his Pakenham win our intention was to give him another run or two and then give him a break over the spring.
“We think he’ll be an autumn horse, but I did throw a nomination in for the Caulfield Guineas just in case.
“You never know, but he’s got to go all the way through winter and keep going, but we do like the horse.”
