December Draw will face his biggest test so far in the Turnbull Stakes

December Draw is one of the most in form horses currently racing in Australia as he burns a path towards the 2011 Caulfield Cup.

The six year old gelding has won four from five since arriving from the UK and trainer Mark Kavanagh has no doubt he’s capable of notching another victory in the Turnbull Stakes this Sunday at Flemington.

With that being said, this looms as his biggest test so far and Kavanagh knows you can never count on a Group 1 victory during the Melbourne spring.

“There are a lot of good horses in that race, who are just about ready to fire in their preparation, and the softer track will also play into their hands. It’s a good strong race,” he said.

Although saying the soft track will play into his rivals hands, Kavanagh then goes back on it by saying his horse will be suited to the conditions.

“The weather is not a worry for him, as he has excellent wet track form. He’s won twice at Flemington over 2000m from two goes, and his only defeat has been at Moonee Valley.

“I expect him to do pretty well as he looks pretty well in on the set weights and penalties, so he should be able to match up with his rivals.”

In a bonus to those who have been following December Draw throughout his preparation so far Kavanagh says even if his horse fails to win this weekend it would take a visibly poor run for him to consider not running in the Caulfield Cup.

That’s put down largely to the fact he will drop a full two kilograms to 52.5kg for the Caulfield Cup on October 15.

While December Draw continues the trend of European imports performing well since being moved permanently to Australia (a strategy made famous by Chris Waller), for Kavanagh it’s been success at first try.

“He’s really the first (overseas) horse I’ve had, but I’m really not doing that much different,” he said.

“You’ve got to train them to suit what they need and he’s got lots of different treatments, but he’s thriving on what he’s doing.”