McKay mulls options for his stable star
Puccini confirmed ambitious Australian plans with an impressive win at Awapuni, writes Tim Barton.
Peter McKay has some tough but not unpleasant decisions to make this week.
The Matamata trainer has to get serious about sorting out a programme for stable star Puccini.
Puccini’s decisive Merial Mile win at Awapuni on Saturday allayed any fears that the horse would not come up as a spring four-year-old and confirmed a Melbourne campaign.
McKay has to decide when Puccini will head to Melbourne and whether his first major target will be the A$ 3 million Caulfield Cup (2400m), on October 18, or the A$ 3 million weight-for-age Cox Plate (2040m) a week later.
If Puccini tackles the Caulfield Cup, he will almost certainly have his next run in the A$ 500,000 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) in Melbourne on October 4.
But if the Cox Plate is the preferred target, Puccini might contest the Livamol Classic (2040m) at Hastings, on the same day as the Turnbull, before crossing the Tasman.
McKay’s thoughts immediately after the Merial were that the horse was most likely to have his next start in the Turnbull but he was less definitive yesterday.
“I got all excited after the win but have reassessed things and it’s probably a 50-50 call now,” he said.
“My head is telling me we should keep taking small steps.
“If we run him in the Caulfield Cup, he would have to have a leadup run in Melbourne, because there would be only a fortnight to the cup.
“But if he runs in the Cox, he could still run at Hastings, because he would have three weeks to get over the race and the trip to Melbourne.”
Puccini is attractively weighted in the Caulfield Cup, with 52.5kg – 5kg below weight-for-age – and should make the field but McKay is reluctant to abandon a Cox Plate tilt without good reason.
A Cox Plate victory would also do much more for Puccini’s stud prospects than a Caulfield Cup win.
“The Cox Plate has always been the main aim,” McKay said. “That has been the dream since he won the [New Zealand] Derby [in April].”
McKay believes the Cox, which is invariably a high pressure race, would be run to suit Puccini. “He often starts pulling at the 800m and he should be able to quicken when they all go.”
Four-year-old Dissident, who recorded his second Gr I win this
Derby winner Puccini returned to form with an emphatic win at Awapuni on Saturday. campaign in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday, is $ 9 favourite for the Cox with the New Zealand TAB.
Silent Achiever, Fawkner and Dan Excel are the only others under $15, with Puccini at $ 26.
Puccini’s owner-breeders, Paul and Cushla Smithies, will be guided by McKay’s views but would love to have a Cox Plate runner.
“Winning a Cox Plate would be every breeder’s dream but we will leave the decisions to Peter,” Paul Smithies said on Saturday.
“The most important thing is to get an Australian Gr I and there will be a lot of options.”
Puccini has also been nominated for the Melbourne Cup and Australia’s most famous race remains a possible target.
“I still feel he would step out as far [in distance] as I want him to go,” McKay said.
The Merial was Puccini’s fifth group win but more importantly, the ease of his win showed the horse had come up well.
“I thought he was coming right but I’ve been fooled before,” McKay said.
“You don’t know for sure until they get out there and race again.
“He had a hard campaign last year but he loves being a racehorse and good horses keep coming back.
“By rights, he should have done that to them [at Awapuni], but knowing where he was [in terms of fitness], I thought he could get beat.
“He won’t tighten up a lot but he will improve a lot in race fitness. Once he gets race fit, he will muscle up again. The more he raced [as a three-year-old] the better he did. I probably mollycoddled him a bit in the spring, because he doesn’t carry a lot of condition and I was nervous about giving him too much work.
“He put on 10kg near the end of his New Zealand season and put weight on again in Sydney. I worked him harder in Sydney than I’ve worked any horse in my life, because we were struggling to keep on top of him, and he still put on 5kg.
“Like Sir Slick [Puccini’s halfbrother], he just wants to be a racehorse. I never thought I would be able to say that I trained a better one than Alamosa – I thought he was a once in a lifetime horse - but this horse [Puccini] is the real deal.”
Vinnie Colgan has ridden Puccini in his two starts this campaign and will keep the mount if the horse tackles the Livamol but an Australian rider is likely to be engaged for Melbourne.
“We want somebody who knows the tracks and is used to riding in those sorts of races,” McKay said.