Moonee Valley specialist Hey Doc blew the cobwebs out with a potential first up winning gallop at The Valley on Monday morning.

Hey Doc, above, is set to resume in the 2018 Carlyon Stakes at The Valley. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Hey Doc is the winner of his only three appearances at The Valley and trainer Tony McEvoy is confident that his stable star will be very hard to beat there again in the Listed $120,000 SAJ Fruit Supply Carlyon Stakes (1000m) on Saturday.
McEvoy took Hey Doc to The Valley on Monday morning to let the five year old have a good blow out and he was happy with what he saw as compared to his previous gallop at Sandown.
“Hey Doc cruised around really strongly and I was much happier with his work today, he pulled up clean and is ready to go,” McEvoy told Racing.com.
“At Sandown the other day when I galloped him in between races he was very naughty, he wanted to over-do it and was a bit fresh … he pulled up stuffy because he didn’t breathe well and he did it all wrong.
“I said to Luke Currie ‘Let the cobwebs get out of him today’.
“It’s nice to have him back, he’s probably my pin-up horse for the stable having won two Group 1s for us.
The Group 1 $1m Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes (1200m) at The Valley during the 2017 Melbourne Spring Carnival was one of two Group 1 wins for the Hey Doc and McEvoy is aiming the five year towards that race again this Spring.
“This spring his aim is the Manikato Stakes again,” McEvoy said.
Hey Doc’s other Group 1 win came during his three year old season when he took out the 2017 $750,000 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington during the Autumn Carnival.
Hey Doc missed most of the 2017 Autumn Carnival because of injury and will be facing the starter for the first time since finishing seventh to Redkirk Warrior in the Group 1 $750,000 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington on February 17.
McEvoy is certain that Hey Doc will benefit greatly from his first up run in the Carlyon Stakes but still expects him to figure in the finish.
“He had a long time off with these pectoral muscles (injury) and he’s 570kg now but I’ve really been struggling to get the weight off the big boy, he’s a big, heavy horse,” McEvoy explained.
“He’ll show improvement out of Saturday’s run but he has done plenty and he’s pulled up well enough this morning to win a 1000-metre race.”
Hey Doc is one of twenty-two horses nominated for the Carlyon Stakes and has been allocated the top weight of 60kg under the set weights plus penalties conditions for the race.
Nominations for the 2018 Carlyon Stakes (1000m)
# | Last 10 | Horse | Sex | Age | Trainer | Ballot | Weight | Hcp Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 96x1401x7x | HEY DOC | G | 5 | Tony McEvoy | 1 | 60kg | 112 |
2 | 47x281119x | QUILISTA | M | 5 | Darren Weir | 2 | 57kg | 105 |
3 | 6x9272123x | DOTHRAKI | G | 8 | Peter & Paul Snowden | 3 | 58kg | 106 |
4 | 1x38361x8x | JORDA | M | 4 | James Cummings | 4 | 56kg | 85 |
5 | 11111x224x | I’M WESLEY | G | 6 | Glenn Stevenson | 5 | 57kg | 98 |
6 | 1140x5620x | BONS AWAY | G | 5 | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | 6 | 57kg | 99 |
7 | 0x632x128x | FAATINAH | G | 6 | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | 7 | 56kg | 105 |
8 | 79x821158x | DEMONSTRATE | G | 6 | Allan & Jason Williams | 8 | 56kg | 95 |
9 | 63237×6351 | CASHED | G | 7 | Ryan Balfour | 9 | 56kg | 89 |
10 | x7231x6577 | SUNDAY ESCAPE | G | 8 | Andrew Murray | 10 | 56kg | 89 |
11 | 220x28693x | MR SNEAKY | G | 5 | Anthony Freedman | 11 | 56kg | 100 |
12 | x5112x933x | SUPER TOO | M | 5 | Marc Conners | 12 | 54kg | 99 |
13 | 21212×6311 | BANDIPUR | H | 4 | James Cummings | 13 | 56kg | 89 |
14 | 156x5x6113 | INVINCIBLE AL | G | 5 | Patrick Payne | 14 | 56kg | 87 |
15 | 31322×1152 | SHOWPERO | M | 5 | Wayne Francis & Glen Kent | 15 | 54kg | 85 |
16 | 1134x1146x | DEMERARA | M | 4 | James Cummings | 16 | 54kg | 84 |
17 | 1911218x1x | MILE HIGH | G | 5 | John Macmillan | 17 | 56kg | 82 |
18 | 6039×69387 | KHALAMA | M | 6 | Shane Nichols | 18 | 54kg | 80 |
19 | L27327x16x | BALANCING ACT | M | 5 | Brent Stanley | 19 | 54kg | 77 |
20 | x6111x4x5x | UNIQUE LOVELY | M | 5 | Frankie Stockdale | 20 | 54kg | 74 |
21 | 12154×9211 | ALL ABOUT NICCI | M | 6 | Kym Hann | 21 | 54kg | 78 |
22 | 46x13318x4 | HUGE ACTION | G | 4 | Andrew Sawden | 22 | 56kg | 68 |