Turn Me Loose will chase his second stakes win in the space of seven days when the New Zealand Group One winner lines up in the Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Turn Me Loose scored a dominant victory in the Listed Seymour Cup (1600m) last Sunday with Caulfield Cup winning hoop Opie Bosson aboard.
Bosson will again take the ride in the Group Two Crystal Mile over the same distance on the Cox Plate undercard.
Turn Me Loose is on the second line of betting behind Toorak handicap winner Lucky Hussler and if he performs to expectations in the Crystal Mile, trainer Murray Baker will consider a start in the Group One Emirates Stakes at Flemington two weeks later.
“That’s the plan if he can run well on Saturday,” Baker said.
Turn Me Loose claimed the Seymour Cup at his third campaign start and Baker said the horse had continued to improve.
“He needs a bit of racing. He’s been off the scene for a long time,” he said.
“He went to Sydney and he got travel sickness last autumn and he had to come back (to New Zealand) again.”
After a first-up sixth in a New Zealand Group One in August, Turn Me Loose came to Melbourne and finished a close second at Flemington before his Seymour win.
Lucky Hussler is the $2.25 favourite for the Crystal Mile ahead of Turn Me Loose ($5) and Godolphin import Bow Creek ($6) who makes his Australian debut.
