The Group 1 nonconformist is back in action as his coach Grahame Begg urges the six-year-old to prepare for the Australian Cup.
The Rebel Raider son is yet to win at the highest level but has shown he is more than up to it, two seconds down on Incentivize in the Caulfield Cup and Probabeel in last year’s Caulfield Stakes.
He was winless in 2022 but ran some great races, finishing 2½ lengths behind Anamoe in the Caulfield Stakes, which featured I’m Thunderstruck, Zaaki and Mr Brightside.
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“We got him back to work, he’s in light training at the moment so we’re just tracking him,” Begg said.
“We’re watching the Australian Cup with him, so I’d say we just follow the natural prelims for that, the Peter Young and those kinds of races.
“I’m happy with him though and looking forward to seeing what he does next year. Hopefully he can win a few races for us and shake his Group 1 mark.”
Meanwhile, Lunar Flare, scratched from the Melbourne Cup on race morning, is about to return to the stables after a brief hiatus.
Four days later, the seven-year-old mare was also disqualified from the Queen Elizabeth Stakes by the Racing Victoria stewards.
Lunar Flare was on the market for the Melbourne Cup before being scratched on race morning. Image: George Sal-Racing Photos via Getty Images
Begg hopes Lunar Flare can return to the two-mile feature next year, but acknowledges a lot of water will need to flow under the bridge.
“She doesn’t go into pre-training until next Monday, she’s had a little break and is ready to get back in next week,” Begg said.
“Hopefully we can get them back to it next year (Melbourne Cup), obviously a lot is happening between now and then so we’ll see what happens.
“Obviously as a mare she has missed going in deck this season but hopefully she can continue racing in the autumn and we will reassess it afterwards.
“She may eventually go to Sydney or possibly even Brisbane for some of those races.”
Bookmaker TAB ranks Lunar Flare as a $51 opportunity in the futures markets for both the Melbourne Cup and Sydney Cup.
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