Racing
Recommendation back for Bel Esprit
Maher sprinter chases another Caulfield feature.
Recommendation will return to a happy hunting ground when he makes his first appearance of the year at Caulfield this Saturday.
The Ciaron Maher-trained speedster is one of 24 nominations for the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes.
The $175,000 event is run over 1100 metres, the course and distance Recommendation dominated in the cooler months of last year, winning the Sir John Monash Stakes and The Heath at Group 3 level.
In between, the five-year-old won the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes over 1200m and Maher's assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said this weekend's event was a stepping stone to defending those titles.
"He's literally on a carbon copy of his same prep last year," Turnbull said.
"We don't do a lot with him at home because he's obviously quite quick and we don't really want to get to the bottom of him.
"He doesn't have to have softer ground, but if he can get his toe in, I think he's more effective on that type of track."
The Monash Stakes, Bletchingly Stakes and The Heath are among four Victorian Black Type wins for Recommendation, who also won the Group 3 Zeditave Stakes (1200m) in 2023, also at Caulfield.
The Bel Esprit Stakes will be Recommendation's first start since finishing 12th of 14 in last December's Group 1 Hong Kong International Sprint (1200m), which Turnbull said came at the end of what had been a long year for the son of Shalaa.
"Unfortunately, the step up in class and travel probably just caught up with him," Turnbull said.
The five-year-old is the highest-rated runner in Saturday's race with Aviatress and Cleo Cat heading a list of potential rivals that also includes Extremely Lucky, Fickle, Midwest, Niance and Title Fighter.
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