Sydney’s loss will be Melbourne’s gain with trainer Chris Waller confirming Nature Strip will have his next start in the Darley Champions Sprint on the final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival at Flemington.
Connections had also been weighing up whether to keep Nature Strip in Sydney for his namesake race, the $3 million Nature Strip Stakes (1300m) at Randwick on October 29.
However, it would have meant stretching the horse beyond 1200m for the first time and given him less time to recover from his tough run in this year’s The Everest when he was posted wide from an outside draw but battled bravely for fourth to Giga Kick.
Waller believes spacing Nature Strip’s runs will help the champion sprinter extend his racing career.
“His next start will be at Flemington in the Group 1 Darley Sprint, a race that he was dominant in last year and he has obviously had great success up the straight in recent years,” Waller said.
“This allows us to give him three weeks between runs as we believe that he is more effective with his races spaced.
“Moving forward, spacing his races and giving him a three-race spring preparation will continue to give him longevity and enable Nature Strip to race on for another year.”
An emphatic winner of the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, Nature Strip returned with a dominant win in The Shorts before his Everest effort.
He made a one-act affair of the Champion Sprint (formerly the VRC Classic) last year, dominating from the front to defeat Swats That by more than three lengths.
