The Melbourne Cup (3200m) will be the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival target for talented New Zealand-trained stayer Sangster.

Sangster will be aimed at the 2013 Melbourne Cup. Photo by: Taron Clarke

The 2011 Victoria Derby winner has dominated the New Zealand staying ranks in the last twelve months, recording impressive victories in the Group 1 International Stakes (2000m), Group 2 Avondale Gold Cup (2400m) and Group 1 Auckland Cup (3200m), and ran on well to finish third behind Fiveandahalfstar and Silent Achiever in The Group 1 BMW (2400m) during the 2013 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

The Savabeel four-year-old is expected to begin his spring campaign in the Group 3 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa on August 17 and will have his final start in New Zealand in the Group 1 Makfi Challenge Stakes (1400m) before heading across the Tasman.

Co-trainer Trent Busuttin is unsure the exact path Sangster will take to the Melbourne Cup, once he arrives in Australia, with a number of different races on the agenda.

“He’ll go over for the Underwood Stakes and will run in either the Turnbull Stakes or the Caulfield Stakes,” Busuttin told The Informant.

“The Turnbull is set weights and penalties so it is probably the better option, but the Caulfield Stakes is a week before the Caulfield Cup and its similar timing to when he went from the Darci Brahma into the Avondale Cup.

“The Auckland Cup was 17 days after the Avondale Cup so the timing between the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups is also much the same and it worked last time so I’d like to replicate it.”

Sangster returned from a nine-week spell last June and Busuttin is happy with how the rising five-year-old is progressing.

“He’s been back in since the second week of June and he’s about to start galloping,” Busuttin said.

“He’s come back a bit heavier and is looking good.”