Moonee Valley winner Highland Beat will probably have to run in Sydney in an attempt to cement a start in the Magic Millions Classic.
The colt let all the way to win over 1000 metres on Friday night but his first prize of $22,000 is unlikely to be enough to get him into the field for next month’s $2 million race at the Gold Coast.
Co-trainer Tom Dabernig said the best option seemed to be a two-year-old race on Boxing Day at Randwick.
Dabernig, who trains in partnership with David Hayes, says the stable will now start working on Highland Beat to get him accustomed to racing in the opposite direction.
Dabernig said going from Melbourne to Sydney was the ideal way to break up the trip to Queensland.
“It’s a bit of travelling for a young horse but I think he’s the sort that will handle it,” Dabernig said.
“We have found going halfway to Sydney helps – settling them in there and then it’s not quite as long a trip up there.”
“We’ll probably have only the one (Magic Millions) two-year-old. We’ve got another couple that will be trialling soon, but we’re starting to run out of time.”
Stablemate Gracious Prospect is likely to return to the Gold Coast for the third time despite finishing seventh at Flemington on Saturday.
The five-year-old finished midfield in the 2013 Magic Millions Classic won by REal Surreal before running seventh to Sweet Idea in the Magic Millions Guineas in 2014.
Dabernig said Gracious Prospect would run in the Magic Millions Cup (1400m) with Catch A Fire and Moral Outrage contenders for the $250,000 maiden on the day.
