Trainer Troy Corstens has revealed that the 2014 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, rather than the Melbourne Cup, will be the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival target for promising stayer Pinstripe Lane.
Pinstripe Lane has been gelded, but will return to racing for a spring preparation. Photo by: Steve Hart
Pinstripe Lane was placed at Group level during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival, finishing third in the Group 2 Mitchelton Wines Vase (2040m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day before finishing a distant 13th in the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m), but made a slow start to his autumn campaign before returning to his best form with a strong win in the Rexel Handicap (1900m) at Rosehill Gardens on May 10.
The son of Pins was taken to Brisbane and finished an unlucky second in the Group 3 Grand Prix Stakes (2200m) at Doomben on May 24 and was narrowly denied a maiden victory at Group 1 level in the Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
Corstens told Racing Ahead that he had been pleased with the performances of Pinstripe Lane during his preparation, but that has not saved the former colt a trip to the vet to be gelded.
“He did a good job,” Corstens
“He is a good horse and he did us proud.
“He didn’t quite get there, but he ran well.
“Today it (the gelding) happened and that will teach him for hanging out at the last 50.”
Pinstripe Lane will be given three weeks in the spelling paddock to recover from both his tough campaign and the gelding operation before returning to work ahead of what Corstens hopes will be a 2014 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival.
Corstens said that Pinstripe Lane will not be set for the major staying races like the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) and Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), but has a race like the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington on November 8 in mind for the rising four-year-old.
“I am going to see how he is,” Corstens said.
“We planned to give him three weeks off and that will help him get over the gelding as well.
“We will have a look at him and see whether we can get him back and we will probably target a race like the Queen Elizabeth.
“We will have a look at see how we are going and it he doesn’t pop up we will back off and set him for the autumn.
“We will have a little bit of a crack during the spring, but not at the big one.”
