Australian Bloodstock director Jamie Lovett is hoping for some more Spring Carnival success with French import Singing who is being finely tuned to make his Australian debut at Canterbury on Saturday.
Protectionist, above, won the 2014 Melbourne Cup at Flemington for Australian Bloodstock. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.
German import Protectionist was able to win the 2014 Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington for Australian Bloodstock and Lovett has high hopes for Singing who will begin his Spring Carnival journey in the 1900m BenchMark 93 Handicap on the weekend.
“If he is fit and well, he would not be out of place in any Group 1 race in Australia,” Lovett told The Courier-Mail.
“I thought he was a genuine Caulfield Cup horse when we purchased him.
“Then he had all sorts of problems overseas and we have had to be incredibly patient with him.
“He has now been in training for six months or so, having a very long and slow European style preparation.”
Singing is the winner of four races from fifteen starts but hasn’t raced since finishing fifth to Second Step in the Group 1 €175,000 125th Grosser Preis von Berlin (2414m) at Hoppegarten in Germany in August 2015.
A tendon injury has kept the six year old away from the race track for the last twelve months and Lovett is hoping to see Singing back in the winner’s stall sooner rather than later.
Lovett is hoping to qualify the Kris Lees trained Singing for the Group 1 $3m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 15 or possibly find his way in the field of the Group 1 $2m Emirates Stakes (2000m), formerly the Mackinnon Stakes, at Flemington on the last day of the four day Melbourne Cup Carnival.
“He has been off the scene so long that obviously he has to win some races and get his rating up to get into a race like the Caulfield Cup,” Lovett said.
“But if he doesn’t get into that sort of race, something like the Mackinnon (now Emirates) Stakes could be on the cards for him.”
“We will take it day by day with him but it is fair to say that I certainly have a very good opinion of him.”
Singing did have some good form around Protectionist and when the pair clashed in Germany in June 2014 when Singling was beaten a length when second to the Melbourne Cup winner in the Group 2 €70,000 Lucky Speed Hansa-Preis (2413m) at Hamburg.
