Encouraged by the way Malibu Style has come through his win at Flemington, West Australian trainer Neville Parnham is considering running the consistent gelding on a seven-day back-up in the Sir John Monash Stakes.
Malibu Style won last Saturday’s Listed All Victorian Sprint Series Final (1200m) at Flemington and the seven-year-old gelding is among 23 nominations for this weekend’s Group Three weight-for-age Monash Stakes over 1100m at Caulfield.
“It was a very good win on Saturday and that’s probably what’s tempted me to nominate him again, combined with the way he pulled up,” Parnham said.
“I think this one over 1100 metres probably fits in better than waiting three weeks and going to the 1200-metre race. I think he is really effective at this sort of distance.
“It is probably the best he has pulled up all preparation so it might be the right timing to have a go at a race like that.”
Imported sprinter Spirit Of Valor is the highest-rated horse among the nominations.
Spirit Of Valor, now trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, raced three times during last year’s Melbourne spring carnival when trained by Aidan O’Brien, finishing second in the Schillaci Stakes and Manikato Stakes before a sixth in the VRC Sprint Classic.
“Obviously Spirit Of Valor, if he started, would be pretty hard to beat,” Parnham said.
A winner of 11 of his 55 starts, Malibu Style has done the majority of his racing in the past couple of years in Melbourne and one of his three Listed race victories in Victoria has come over the Caulfield 1100m in the 2017 Bel Esprit Stakes.
“All things being equal, if he drew well I think he would go really well in a race like this,” Parnham said.
“It just depends who’s going to be in it, I guess.”
Acceptances are taken on Wednesday.
