Kentuckiana Lodge reeled out two of their big guns at the trials this week and both hit their targets by running smart sectionals.
Republican Party showed he was on track for his tilt at the upcoming Sires Stakes Series when reeling off smart sectionals in a classy victory for trainers Cran and Chrissie Dalgety.
The two-year-old cleared out from his rivals for a four-length victory, reeling off 56.5sec (800m) and 27.4sec (400m) splits to show he is ready to return to the track.
“We were thrilled with that trial, he needed a strong hit-out and he got that and showed he is right on track," Cran said.
“He is a classy horse, we have a decent opinion of him but his is a typical Bettor’s Delight and he doesn’t show us anything like that at home.”
“He’s ready to go to the races now, he will be at Addington next week it will just be a matter of which race he is in.”
“We will consider the Sires Stakes heat because he is well up to that company, but with some of his age group have already had a bit of racing, so we will weigh up our options.”
“He may go to a grade race for a pipe opener, we will decide on that next week.”
“In summary we are thrilled with the horse’s progress, he had an interrupted season last year but he is ready to hit the track running this time in and the Sires Stakes Final is his big goal.”
The Kentuckiana Team also rolled out three-time Group One winning Australian mare Pelosi for her first public appearance at Wednesday’s trials.
The four-year-old ran on strongly for third against a quality line up with Blair Orange in the sulky.
Cran knows he has a class act on his hands and is getting to know the mare better the longer she's in his stable.
“We know she is a very good horse and we know she has very high speed, Blair clocked her home in 26.5sec (400m) and he was happy with her trial.”
“We are getting to know her better all the time and she seems to be thriving over here, even with our colder weather.”
“She is ticking over very nicely and now we are looking towards a kick off point.”
“We have a couple of options in front of us and will make a decision on that in the coming days.”
“It’s exciting to have her in the stable and she will give the Kiwi mares plenty to think about when we line her up.”
The Kentuckiana team also lined up Invitation Only at Wednesday’s trials.
The two-year-old’s run was his first since he trialled very smartly last season.
Invitation Only is likely to head back to the trials before racing.
- By Jonny Turner
