Trainer Mick Price has great respect for Deep Field, but he is hopeful that his star sprinter Lankan Rupee can edge the gifted stallion in the 2015 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.
Lankan Rupee impressed onlookers with his performance in an exhibition gallop at Caulfield on Saturday. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell
Lankan Rupee and Deep Field will be started their respective 2015 Melbourne Festival Of Racing campaigns in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes, but both sprinters have impressed with their efforts in public jump outs and track gallops in the lead-up to the Group 1 event.
Deep Field is currently a narrow favourite in 2015 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes betting markets, but Price told RSN that he feels Lankan Rupee may have the edge over his rival in the $500,000 event this weekend.
“Deep Field is probably the sprinting stallion that you would want to be buying shares in, there is no doubt about that,” Price said.
“He is a very, very good horse and a promising sprinter.
“He was very green when he did race down the straight, but I watched his trial and he did work away from them and trialed really good.
“He is a pretty thickset, bulky sort of horse and I am hoping that my gelding can have the edge on him in the Lightning and we will worry about the 1200 metre races down the track.
“I think that I can beat him, but I have a lot of respect for the horse.
“I think that we will beat Brazen Beau.
“His Coolmore win was good, but he is in a different class with Lankan Rupee and Deep Field over 1000 metres.”
Lankan Rupee had his final serious hit-out ahead of the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes in an exhibition gallop and he impressed onlookers with the way that he ran his last 600 metres in a time of 34.07 seconds.
Price admits that Lankan Rupee is still carrying more weight than he was at the start of the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival, but he is confident that the son of Redoute’s Choice could not be in much better condition ahead of his return to racing.
“He is right to go,” Price said.
“I want to see him win of cause, but he does have some improvement from raceday.
“He had a good trial here, he had a good trial at Cranbourne in the official trial and he has had a couple of gallops heading in.
“He is probably six or seven kilos over what he raced at last preparation, but that might just be because horses improve and grow a bit when they go from four to five and five to six.
“I am not too worried about anything and he is pretty right to go.”
Price is chasing his first win in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes after finishing third with classy mare Samaready in last year’s race.
