Racing
War Machine to target Australia Stakes
Stradbroke winner ready to go for early Group Two target.
Group One winning gelding War Machine will be seen in an early feature sprint when he lines up in the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m) this Friday night.
Usually run at Moonee Valley, this year's edition will be run under lights at Southside Pakenham with the Moonee Valley track under reconstruction.
War Machine announced himself as one of the top sprinters in the country winning the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) in the Winter, resuming with an equally impressive victory in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m) with 60kg in the Spring.
The brilliance of those wins saw War Machine gain a slot in The Everest, for which he was sent out third favourite to Hong Kong champion Ka Ying Rising, finishing down the track there, and in the Russel Balding Stakes on a heavy track before a spell.
Lindsay Park have fitted War Machine with two jump outs, winning his latest heat at Werribee under a hold and giving Ben, Will & Jd Hayes confidence he'd taken no ill effects from his trip to Sydney in the Spring.
"He's very good, and he's on track to run in the Australia Stakes on January 23rd," JD Hayes said.
"The Sydney trips didn't quite go to plan. The thing we're holding onto is how brilliant he was first time down the straight, off that Queensland freshen as well.
"We're really happy with the order he's presenting and trialling up in, and I thought at Werribee on Friday he showed us ready to run a really good race first up."
An official rating of 114 has made War Machine trickier to place now, but Hayes said options are open, whether they be at weight-for-age or not.
"We'll sort of see how he goes in the Australia Stakes and then we're largely going to target him towards that traditional path through the autumn," Hayes said.
"Just with his rating, he's got to stick to those weight-for-age classics, and we do think he's probably going to be better suited getting slightly out in trip.
Hayes said the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) on February could fit the bill, but the stable would also assess War Machine's potential weight in a Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) given his explosive win down the Flemington straight in the Gilgai Stakes.
"It (the Newmarket) is certainly something that we will consider," Hayes said.
"I don't know what weight he'd get but he has got a good track record down the straight.
"So it's definitely something worth considering, but we'll see how he goes on Friday and pick the races accordingly for him."
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