Former Hong Kong champion Good Ba Ba will have their next start in this Saturday’s 2013 Kensington Stakes at Flemington Racecourse as the veteran 11-year-old prepares for a shot at the Doncaster Mile in the autumn.
The Lear Fan gelding, formerly trained and raced in Hong Kong where career highlights included their seven Group 1 victories most recently in the 2009 Hong Kong Mile, was bought out of retirement late last year joining Victorian horseman Rick Hore-Lacy’s Caulfield stables.
In their first race in 20 months the veteran ran a credible fourth when beaten five lengths by Adamantium in the Group 3 Standish Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on New Year’s Day, Good Ba Ba having carried 60.5kg and jumped from barrier 15 of 16.
Hore-Lacy hopes they can improve on that effort when they race second-up at the same track this Saturday in the $120,000 Listed Kensington Stakes (1000m) but knows the short distance down Flemington’s straight six will be a little too sharp for them.
“Good Ba Ba will race this Saturday at Flemington,” he said.
“One thousand metres will be too short for him but two or three weeks after that there is a mile race at Caulfield, the Carlyon Cup, that should suit him because he’ll get in on the minimum weight.
“He’ll still run a good race on Saturday but they’ll just go way too quickly for him and he’ll be last on settling down.”
The $150,000 Group 3 Carlyon Cup (1600m) runs at Caulfield on February 9.
Good Ba Ba has an ambitious next few months ahead of them with their new trainer looking to get them back in the winners’ stall and back racing at elite level, Hore-Lacy naming the $2 million Group 1 Doncaster Mile Handicap (1600m) at Royal Randwick on April 20 as a possible aim.
2013 Doncaster Mile nominations close on Tuesday January 15 and will be published right here at Races.com.au.
Stay tuned for all the autumn updates and remember that when it comes to having a punt on the ponies there’s only one bookmaker in Australia offering you the chance to Pick Your Own Odds – bookmaker.com.au!
