No chance to join Elite

DANIEL Morton remains hopeful Elite Street will take his place in Saturday’s Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning but the WA trainer concedes it’s unlikely he will be able to make the journey from Perth.

Elite Street and stablemate Kiss on all for cheeks are booked to fly out of Perth on Monday night bound for Melbourne, with the latter set to contest the Group 3 The Vanity on the same day at Flemington.

However, Morton has been forced to re-evaluate those plans, after a coronavirus case in Melbourne last week saw COVID-19 restrictions tightened for interstate travellers.

“There is a bit going on and we are not 100 per cent sure if we are able to go yet,” Morton said on Sunday.

“They are booked to fly out, so as it stands right now, I don’t think I would be able to go with the horses (on Monday night).

“Under RV restrictions I would need a COVID test on the first day, which is fine, but then again later in the week, which would rule me out for the whole week.

“We still have a few options to send them over there to someone else that we will have to discuss with connections.

“We will have to make a decision by midday (Monday).”

Elite Street is rated a $15 chance to win the Lightning Stakes, with Mark Zahra booked to ride the WA gun.

“He is a very good horse,” Morton said.

“We have wanted to test him over there and have had a high opinion of him for a while.

It’s shaping as a cracking edition of the Black Caviar Lightning, with top-liners Nature Strip and Bivouac joined by three-year-olds September Run and Swats That among the contenders.

Godolphin star Bivouac is the $2.60 favourite.