WYONG Cup runner-up Luncies will be given his chance for an overdue black type success in next Friday’s $300,000 Newcastle Gold Cup (2300m).
The eight-year-old gelding is likely to be Lees’ sole representative in the Group 3 feature, which he won with another import Mugatoo in 2020.
“Luncies ran really well in the Wyong Cup (2100m) a week ago, and will definitely line up at home,” Lees said on Friday.
“I’m considering also nominating Kalapour, but he will probably go to the Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick the following day.”
The $250,000 Group 3 Kingston Town is run at set weights plus penalties, and as a Group 1 winner Kalapour will receive 58kg.
Luncies won four races in the UK before coming to Australia and has won twice here two years apart; the latest being the Group 3 Tatt’s Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm in June last year.
Remarkably, he has been placed 11 times in Australia; 10 of them in stakes races.
Lees will have runners in all three features at the Cup meeting, nominating three horses (Loch Eagle, Ucalledit and Kinloch) for the $250,000 Group 3 Cameron Handicap (1500m), and Hellavadancer for the $250,000 Group 3 Tibbie Stakes (1400m).
He nominated Kinloch for the Listed Vale Black Caviar (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday, but chose not to send him south when he felt the race “came up pretty strong”.
Lees has won all three Group 3s at Newcastle Jockey Club’s spring carnival.
Aside from Mugatoo (Gold Cup), he won the Tibbie with both Fine Bubbles (2014) and Princess Posh (2018), and the Cameron with another mare Absolutelyfabulous in 2009.
Meanwhile, Infancy (Dylan Gibbons) is the leading Newcastle trainer’s only runner at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, and he says he will know the mare’s fate after watching earlier races.
Infancy, improved by one run from a spell, contests the 10th and final event, the Benchmark 88 Handicap (1100m).
“She has come on nicely since her sixth to Kimochi in the Group 3 Toy Show Quality (1100m) at Randwick three weeks ago,” Lees said.
“The rail is out 5m at Rosehill, and Infancy is drawn a bit wide and gets back in her races.
“If they are not making ground earlier in the day, we’ll know our fate beforehand.”
Lees, however, was pleased with rain in Brisbane on Thursday night to enhance Cloudland’s prospects at Eagle Farm on Saturday in the Class 6 Plate (1200m).
An accomplished wet tracker, Cloudland has never been out of a place (and won twice) from five starts on soft ground, and also has won twice from four assignments on heavy tracks.
Lees sent the gelding north to his Gold Coast stable a week ago, intending to start him at Doomben last Saturday.
“He didn’t settle in well enough after the float trip, so it was best to wait another week,” he said.
“Cloudland was excellent first-up when second to Willaidow in a Benchmark 78 Handicap (1200m) at Randwick last month, and looks nicely placed in a Class 6 Plate in Brisbane.”
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Fellow provincial trainers Sara Ryan (Wyong) and Paul Perry (Newcastle) are taking on the might of the Waterhouse/Bott and Waller stables at Rosehill on Saturday.
Ryan is backing up Roma Avenue (Reece Jones) and Perry will be represented by Forecaster (Rachel King) in the Benchmark 88 Handicap (1800m).
Both horses were placed at their latest Sydney starts.
Roma Avenue ran third to Major Beel in a Benchmark 94 Handicap (1600m) at Randwick last Saturday, whilst Forecaster made a bold bid for victory before being overhauled by fellow Newcastle representative, David Atkins’ Promitto, near the end of the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1800m) at Rosehill on August 31.
Between them, the two major Sydney stables have five of the eight runners.
Story John Curtis, September 13, 2024 - Pics Bradley Photos
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