Passage needs a pilot
Smart Kiwi three-year-old Summer Passage is on track for the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas at Caulfield on Saturday week, but a new rider has to be found.
Trained by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, Summer Passage earned a tilt at the 1600m feature when fighting on strongly for second behind Perast in last Sunday’s Group 3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield.
He was ridden in that event by Mark Zahra, who had also been aboard in his fresh-up run when eighth in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1200m) at Flemington, but won’t be available for the mount in the Caulfield Guineas.
“Mark is booked to ride Catchy, one of the favourites,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ve had a bit of interest in the ride but nobody has been confirmed yet.”
On the strength of Summer Passage’s Guineas Prelude effort and his sole juvenile run in Australia when second to Invader in the Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Randwick last April, there should be no shortage of talented riders chasing the mount on Saturday week, even though it’s the day in which many of the big guns will be in Sydney competing in the A$10 million Everest.
Despite failing to figure in the finish fresh-up in the Danehill Stakes, O’Sullivan was unperturbed.
“It was his first run on good ground since February and he needed it,” O’Sullivan said.