LEES HAS THE FILLY READY TO TARGET COOLMORE CLASSIC
FOR Newcastle trainer Kris Lees, last week’s Melbourne Cup carnival winner Razeta could be the filly to deliver him a Sydney autumn carnival race that he much desires.
The three-year-old sister to Newgate Farm resident stallion Cosmic Force announced herself as a serious prospect when producing a dynamic turn of foot to claim the Listed Desirable Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Oaks Day.
“There was a bit of Cosmic Force about the way she sprinted when she saw daylight,” Lees said.
“I remember the day he won the Pago Pago leading into the Golden Slipper, and when the run came on Thursday, the race was over in a couple of strides.” Lees has already sent Razeta to the paddock with his eyes firmly fixed on Group 1 targets during the Sydney autumn carnival.
“The Coolmore Classic is the race we’ll be heading towards in the autumn; whether she’s mature enough will be determined in her lead-up runs,” he said. “Being a handicap, you have to aim up at it and hope they are ready, because if they go good, it’s unlikely you get the same lightweight 12 months later, so the opportunity can pass you by. First stop will be the Surround Stakes, and that’s the race that will tell us where we are going, but I’d love to get her into the Coolmore on the limit.”
The Coolmore Classic holds a special place in the Newcastle trainer’s heart. His late father Max made the race his own before the turn of the century, winning it five times from 1986 to 1998.
Kris Lees, on the other hand, is still to taste success in the Group 1 fillies and mares contest, which opens the Golden Slipper Carnival at Rosehill. But he’s saddled up four placegetters in the race since 2017.
“I know how to run placings,” he joked. “I won’t be catching him, but I’ve got him for placings.”