Lord Of The Sky is the headline act in the Sir John Monash Stakes but trainer Stephen Brown is hoping another `Lord’ will be to the fore in the Group Three race.
The Brown-trained Sea Lord, winner of the 2013 Group Two Australia Stakes, is nominated for Saturday’s weight-for-age race at Caulfield with the 16 entries headlined by the Robbie Laing-trained defending champion Lord Of The Sky.
Sea Lord scored an all-the-way win in a 1200m open handicap at his favourite track, Moonee Valley, on June 20 at his second run back from an injury lay-off.
“I think it’s quite a nice race for him so more than likely he will run,” Brown said.
“He’s going really well. He looks well and I’m really happy with him.”
Brown says Sea Lord has been plagued by feet issues during his career but the trainer is delighted with the way the seven-year-old has come back.
“He’s got very shelly feet and if you don’t stay on top of it he can feel them,” Brown said.
“But I’ve got a good farrier and we’ve kept on top of them this preparation.”
Sea Lord posted his first win for 21 months when successful in a sprint race on Geelong Cup day last October.
When he was having a freshen-up after his next-start failure at Flemington, the gelding ripped a joint capsule open on a back leg. The wound became infected and kept him off the scene until early this month.
Brown concedes 1100m under weight-for-age conditions might not be ideal but believes Sea Lord is still capable of making his mark at this level.
“I think he’s back in form and looks fantastic,” he said.
Lord Of The Sky, meanwhile, has finished runner-up in the Group One TJ Smith Stakes and The Goodwood at his two most recent starts.
The classy sprinter was scratched from the Stradbroke Handicap when he hurt his heel when being transported to Brisbane.
