Ken Keys admits that Bring Something faces a tough test in the 2014 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but the veteran trainer is hoping that the progressive stayer can set himself up for a big 2015 Spring Racing Carnival campaign by taking out the Group 3 event at Flemington on Saturday.
Bring Something has the chance to record back-to-back wins in the 2014 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington tomorrow. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Bring Something has always shown plenty of staying potential and was far from disgraced in races like the 2013 Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) and 2014 Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m), but recorded the biggest race win of his career to date in the Listed Bendigo Cup (2400m) on October 29.
Keys said after the Bendigo Cup victory that Bring Something could be set for a Melbourne Cup campaign in 2015 and the Cranbourne-based trainer believes that the Sebring gelding can show that he has the talent to follow that path by recording a maiden win at Group level in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
“We are hoping that this can set us up for a genuine tilt at the good racing next year,” Keys said.
“This is a good strong race and if he can perform at this level then we can have something to genuinely look forward to.
“He has come through Bendigo well and I don’t see as much pace in this race as there was in the Bendigo Cup and it will be interesting how the race is run.
“He has done well.
“He will definitely go to the paddock at the end of this one and we will give him the remainder of the spring and he will be a later autumn type of preparation when we come back.”
Bring Something was the beneficiary of the quick tempo set by Kerrin McEvoy on Order Of The Sun in the Bendigo Cup, but there is unlikely to be as much pace in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes with only ten horses in the field.
Keys said that he still expects jockey Luke Nolen to settle Bring Something at the tail of the field, but does not expect the four-year-old to be too far away from the leaders in the early stages of the race.
“He will be back off them and worse than midfield one would imagine,” Keys said.
“With Flemington it is big enough for him to work into the race from the half mile like they all will and if they run slow early they will all quicken, but with a small field they are not going to be far apart.”
Bring Something is currently available at 2014 Queen Elizabeth Stakes odds of $11, while Noble Protector ($3.20) is a narrow favourite from Prince Of Penzance ($4.20), Big Memory ($5.50) and Le Roi ($6).
