Cranbourne trainer Robbie Laing in warning rivals that Lord Of The Sky will strip a much better horse when he steps out at Caulfield on Saturday in the Group 3 $150,000 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m).
Lord Of The Sky with Dwayne Dunn return to scale after winning the Sir John Monash Stakes at Caulfield. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Lord Of The Sky blitzed his rivals last start with a commanding four and half lengths win in the Group 3 $135,000 Polytrack Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on July 5 after overcoming a mid-week virus.
Laing has revealed that he only made a last minute decision to start the Danerich three year old in the weight for age contest after he finally fought off a virus late in the week.
“He struggled with a high white cell count for most of the week before his last start,’’ Laing told the Herald Sun.
“He’s still immature and struggles with colds and sore throats. I’ve been really pleased with him since. Looking towards Saturday, it’s going to be a much better horse who will step out.’’
The Sir John Monash Stakes only had a field of eight and the Bletchingly Stakes is also shaping up as a small field after the Melbourne Racing Club was forced to extend nominations after only eight horses were in the original entries.
Laing was all smiles on Monday morning after Lord Of The Sky sizzled in trackwork, clocking 35.8 seconds for his 600m gallop on a heavy Cranbourne track.
“It was brilliant work. He’s looking so much better than he did last start,” Laing said.
Another impressive win in the Bletchingly Stakes on Saturday will be enough for Laing to test Lord Of The Sky at the highest level and a start in the Group 1 $400,000 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 30 is on the radar.
“If he wins on Saturday, his record would be six wins from nine starts, so he’d deserve a crack at a Group 1 race as he’s a stallion,” Laing said.
Laing has also got his eye on running Lord Of The Sky in the Group 2 $200,000 Anco Seed & Turf Schillaci Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield later in the Spring before he heads to the paddock.
“I’d like to see him win a good sprint at Caulfield and then put him out as he’s still developing,” Laing said.
Lord Of The Sky has earned over $260,000 for connections for five wins and a second from eight starts.
