Summer racing might have seemed like the off season in the past but between the two and three-year-olds, the time is coming for new and emerging talent to raise their profiles.
One of those three-year-olds ia Carbonados who Ben Hayes is very keen to see perform well in over 1100-metres in a $175,000 for horses of that age at Geelong on Saturday.
Purchased by Lindsay Park last year after winning impressively as a short-priced favourite on debut at New Plymouth in New Zealand over 1200-metres in May, the team whisked the gelding across the Tasman towards a berth in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) in October.
That wasn't to be as the son of Irish sire Belrado suffered a quarter crack in one hoof which took that time to recover.
"He has trialled up well and trialled very easily the other day," Ben Hayes said of the jump out over 800-metres at Flemington on December 22 that Carbonados won.
"I think he is a miler but I think can show something here.
"We had to back off him in the springtime with the quarter crack which wasn't significant but enough that we thought we would look after him."
Together with Lindsay Park's investment, other prominent names in the ownership include Werrett Bloodstock, however the gelding will carry the famous lightning bolt colours of Rupert Legh.
Carbonados was highly fancied to take out the Listed Castletown Stakes for two-year-olds in June but was scratched after the purchase was made to bring the gelding to Australia for that spring preparation.
Carbonados' sire Belrado won over distances from 1207-metres to 1609-metres in England while his dam, Humoresque, had one win over 1200-metres.
The Geelong meeting on Saturday holds metropolitan status with the feature event the $300,000 Coastal Classic over 1700-metres.
