Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock owner Darren Dance has revealed that he will be targeting the 2014 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival with European-based stayers Kelinni, Dandino and Seismos.
Dandino will return to Australia for another crack at the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Kelinni was purchased by Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock at the end of the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival after a successful two-year stint in the Chris Waller stable that was highlighted by a fourth place finish in the 2012 Melbourne Cup (3200m).
The Refuse To Bend gelding was unable to replicate that formduring his spring campaign last year, but Dance told Racing Ahead this morning that he is hopeful the veteran gelding will recapture his best form under the card of new trainer Marco Botti.
“At this stage I would hope to bring three out for the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup,” Dance said.
“That is the plan and most of them will start to kick-off over the next week or two.
“Kelinni was a horse that people here would be familiar with; he was with Chris Waller and we purchased him and sent him back to Marco to try and recapture that early form that he had.
“He kicks off on Saturday night over there.”
Kelinni will make his European racing debut in the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday night and is set to contest the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes during the 2014 Royal Ascot meeting along with stablemate Dandino.
Dandino finished an unlucky second in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) last year and a credible fifth in the Melbourne Cup and Dance confirmed that the Dansili entire will return to Australia for another tilt at the Cups in 2014.
“Of course there is Dandino, who ran a great second in the Caulfield Cup and a great fifth in the Melbourne Cup last year,” Dance said.
“He will be back out this year.”
Rounding out the Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock-owned trio for both the 2014 Caulfield Cup and 2014 Melbourne Cup is imported German gelding Seismos.
Seismos made his racing debut under the ownership of Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock with a tenth place finish in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup (3200m) at Meydan in March and has previously performed well at Group 1 level in Europe; taking out the 2013 Grosser Preis Von Bayern (2413) by a dominant fourth lengths in April last year.
“The other horse that we brought is a German horse called Seismos, who we have only had one run with in Dubai,” Dance said.
“We moved him across to Marco’s yard and he is another horse that we will target to the Melbourne Spring.”
Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock is yet to win either the Caulfield Cup or Melbourne Cup, but has gone extremely close in recent years; finishing third in the 2012 Melbourne Cup with Jakkalberry and second in the 2013 Caulfield Cup with Dandino.
