News

Derby winner out for Flemington Group One

4th Aug 2014

Racing And Sports - Brad Waters - Sunday, 3 August 2014

Adelaide trainer Richard Jolly is eyeing the Mackinnon Stakes in November as the main spring target for South Australian Derby winner Kushadasi.

The Melbourne Cup is not on the radar for Kushadashi with his trainer Richard Jolly eyeing off another Group One race at Flemington for the South Australian Derby winner.

Subzero completed the South Australian Derby-Melbourne Cup double in 1992 but Jolly believes the weight-for-age Mackinnon Stakes is the better option for Kushadashi.

The Adelaide trainer said Kushadasi did not spell for long enough to enable him prepare the stable star for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, which left the Mackinnon Stakes as the best alternative.

The past two runnings of the Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) have attracted eight and nine runners respectively and Jolly would welcome another small field for the 2014 edition of the race on November 1.

"The Mackinnon can turn out to be a bit of a race that everyone dodges sometimes," Jolly said.

"Everything is either tired from running in the Cox Plate or getting ready for the Melbourne Cup but it's a $1 million race.

"It's still a hard race to win but that's the kind of race that would suit him - 2000 metres at Flemington."

Kushadasi returned to work five weeks ago to prepare for the spring but Jolly says he is another month away from racing.

He said Kushadashi would have one run in Adelaide before he travelled to Melbourne for his second-up outing at 1600 metres.

Richard Jolly plucked Kushadasi out of Cornerstone Stud’s draft at the 2012 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale for $100,000