O’Dea-Hoysted trio Melbourne-bound
UNCOMMON James attracted seven-figure offers last year and the gun sprinter will get the chance to prove his Group 1 potential when he headlines a trio of Melbourne-bound horses for trainers Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted this week.
The excitement machine will fly to Melbourne on Wednesday along with stablemates Shooting For Gold and Scallopini as the training duo look to win their first Group 1.
O’Dea confirmed Uncommon James would kick off his campaign in the Group 2 Rubiton Stakes (1100m) on February 11, before heading to the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate a fortnight later.
Shooting For Gold will head straight to the Oakleigh Plate after running second to King Of Sparta in the Magic Millions Snippets (1200m) on Thursday.
Owned by Hoysted’s wife Caitlin, O’Dea said Uncommon James is their best chance yet at winning a Group 1.
“He definitely is (the headline), he is still so untapped and we don’t really know where his ceiling is yet,” he said.
“They were offered good money for him, but the way prizemoney is now, there are plenty of good money races around.
“I’m not saying it’s easy to win that kind of money back, but he will be plenty of fun.”
After pulling the pin on his spring campaign after one Victorian run last year due to a minor setback, O’Dea is keen to see how his stable star stacks up at the top level.
Such is his ability, he was the favourite for the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) before his campaign was abruptly ended.
“We will see how he measures up in the Oakleigh Plate to see where he goes after that,” O’Dea said.