The Anthony Freedman-trained King Of Hastings gets the chance to press his claims for the Magic Millions Guineas when he runs at Flemington.
The gelding is looking to bounce back from the only unplaced run of his six-start career when he lines up in Saturday’s Say Hello To Summer Racing Trophy (1200m).
King Of Hastings finished fifth in the Magic Millions 3&4YO Classic (1100m) at Ballarat on November 23 when he was coming off a let-up.
While conceding the run was a little disappointing, assistant trainer Sam Freedman believes the horse had excuses, including not appreciating a “shifty” surface on the day.
“We’re happy with how he has trained on. He’s fit and well and it looks a good race for him,” Freedman said.
The Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (1400m) at the Gold Coast on January 11 is a summer option for King Of Hastings, along with several races in Melbourne.
“If he won really well we’d look to take him up there,” Freedman said.
“He would want to be pretty impressive to warrant the trip up but it’s potentially on the cards if he was going really well.
“We pulled up stumps in the spring a bit early to keep that option available. We didn’t quite get a guide at Ballarat so we’ll get a good guide tomorrow on where he sits.
“If he’s not up to that mark then there’s some really nice races over the New Year period so he could target some of those.”
Another three-year-old from the stable, Evening Glory, runs in Saturday’s December Twilight Handicap (1400m) and Freedman believes he can be a force after a pleasing fourth on his return from a spell at Sandown on November 20.
The winner of the Sandown race, Neighbourhood, and runner-up Scorpius, have both since won.
“He ran super at Sandown first-up and the form has been franked,” Freedman said.
“There’s been two winners out of the race and he was arguably one of the runs of the race.
“Out to the 1400 metres should suit and if there’s a bit of speed on and he can just relax early he should be finishing off strong.
“It’s a nice stepping stone for a mile back at Flemington in two weeks time as well, but he has come on and is going well.”
