Maddie Raymond made the long journey from Warrnambool to give imported galloper Earlswood a look at Caulfield but is not sold on the idea of running first-up in the Memsie Stakes.
Earlswood is among 20 nominations for the 1400m Group 1 race on Saturday, but Raymond said she may delay the horses return a week and run in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley.
A winner of three of his nine starts in the UK, Earlswood caught plenty of attention with his Australian debut win in the Group 3 Carlyon Cup (1600m) at Caulfield in February.
The harder autumn tracks played havoc with Earlswood’s shins and the now five-year-old has not been seen in public since that success.
“Time has done him well. He’s a bigger, stronger horse now,” Raymond said.
“These imports can take their time to find their feet, but he was super impressive in his first-up run.
“He should appreciate the softer ground at this time of year rather than those autumn tracks, so we’ve got that shin-soreness out of the way and we’re looking forward to a good prep.”
Earlswood was given a spin around the Caulfield track on Tuesday with Damian Lane aboard.
Raymond said it was the gelding’s first serious hit-out of the preparation, adding that she would see how Earlswood recovered from his day of travelling from Warrnambool and back and the gallop.
“We’ll see how he comes through this gallop, what the race shape looks like on Saturday and make a decision from there, but I think the mile (at The Valley) suits him a little bit better,” Raymond said.
“We’ve got him nominated in the Caulfield Cup, the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup, so we’re keeping our options open.
“At this stage we’re not leaning towards one race but if he came out and got that ‘golden ticket’ out of the Feehan, it would be hard to stay out of the Cox Plate, but at the same time he might get in relatively well at the weights in the 2022 Caulfield Cup.
“We’ll take it one run at a time, but I think he’ll end up in a nice race during the spring, regardless.”
