Spring carnival tilt beckons for Cantiamo

The win wasn’t as dominant as her short quote suggested but Cantiamo did enough to break her maiden at the midweek Kensington meeting and put herself on a path to better races.

Ridden patiently by James Mcdonald, Cantiamo ($1.55) took most of the straight to wear down Nullarbor Jane ($4.80) by a long head in Wednesday’s MyPlates Handicap (1150m) in an effort trainer Kris Lees said was better than it looked.

“I think there was still a bit of merit to the win,” Lees said.

“They don’t pay any more if they win by spaces, but she is a work in progress.

“She’s got a lot of improvement to come and I think she will measure up to some better races in time.”

Lees will let the dust settle before making any bold plans but has indicated a race like the Furious Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on September 6 will be considered for Cantiamo, pending how she comes through Wednesday’s race.

“Whether she goes to a Furious three weeks Saturday or whether that’s asking a bit much of her, we’ll see what else is around and see where she sits,” he said.

Chris Waller also produced a promising three-year-old winner at the meeting in Sixties ($2.90 fav), a full brother to Group 1 sprinter Artorius.

The colt gave McDonald an early double with his seven-length drumming of his Inglis Xtra Bonus Handicap (1150m) rivals and while Waller planned to take a softly, softly approach for now, he was open to finding a target for the horse at the back end of the carnival.

“We’ve always had a bit of time for him, he has just taken a bit longer than we thought to show it,” Waller said.

“Ticking the box of the first win is always important. I never get too far ahead of myself but I will go away a bit more excited to say, ‘OK, what can we find for you?’.

“Naturally, you’d like to see a 12 or 1300-metre handicap on a Saturday, well short of the good horses so he can take a gradual step and maybe join up late spring.”