Co-trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman are set to add to their Melbourne spring carnival team with lightly raced Victoria Derby hopeful Vin De Dance to be flown over from New Zealand.
The high-profile New Zealand stable already has Group One winners Bonneval, Jon Snow and Lizzie L’Amour in Melbourne along with three-year-old Weather With You who is also on a Derby path.
The stable’s other 2017 Victoria Derby nomination, Vin De Dance, is booked to fly to Melbourne this week.
Vin De Dance races in the colours of OTI Racing and won a 1200m-maiden on debut last month in New Zealand on heavy ground before finishing second in benchmark-65 races over 1400m and 1600m at Te Rapa.
“Vin De Dance heads over on Wednesday,” Forsman said.
“He’s a Derby candidate. He’s a lightly tried son of Roc De Cambes that is owned by OTI. They want to have a crack at a Derby.
“He’s run three very good races and if he can stay he’ll be competitive.”
Weather With You finished second in his first Melbourne start last month in a 1400m-Sandown maiden before running fourth in the Victoria Derby Trial (1800m) and seventh in last Saturday’s Listed UCI Stakes (1800m) at Flemington.
Forsman said Weather With You had disappointed in his past two starts and jockey Damian Lane said after Saturday’s race he thought the gelding would appreciate blinkers.
“I’m not sure when his next start will be but we’ll probably try him in blinkers,” Forsman said.
“He’s over there and he’s on that Derby trail so it’s probably worth sticking at it.”
