Trainer Edward Lynam has revealed that he is planning on bringing Diamond Jubilee Stakes winner Slade Power to Australia for the VRC Sprint Classic during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival.
Slade Power is set to face Lankan Rupee in the 2014 VRC Sprint Classic at Flemington in November. Photo by: Steve Hart
Slade Power has raced at the highest level in Great Britain and Ireland since 2012, but he broke through for his maiden Group 1 victory with an impressive win over Due Diligence in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1207m) at the Royal Ascot Meeting last Saturday.
The Dutch Art entire has previously competed outside of Europe, when he finished tenth behind Lord Kanaloa in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin in December last year, and Lynam told Sky Racing HQ that he will give Slade Power another opportunity to record an overseas Group 1 win.
“I hear you have got a very good sprinter (Lankan Rupee) over there but we’ll give it a go,” Lynam told said.
“We’ve been doing a bit of research into him and he might not be Black Caviar, but he’s very, very good and he’s going to be a hard nut to crack.
“We’re not afraid to lose, so we’re going to give it a go.”
Racing Victoria International Recruitment Officer Leigh Jordon said that there are a few logistics that need to be worked out before Slade Power is confirmed as a runner in the VRC Sprint Classic, but he is confident that the feature sprint event of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival will have an international presence for the second year in a row after leading Hong Kong sprinter Lucky Nine contested the race last year.
“He’s (Lynam) spoken with the connections and they’re looking very positively about bringing Slade Power down for the VRC Sprint which is a great result,” Jordon said.
“We had Lucky Nine come down last year as a previous Global Sprint Challenge winner and Slade Power was pretty impressive winning the Diamond Jubilee and he’s got very good form, so that was good news.
“It’s a terrific result if we can get Slade Power out here; I think it will add a lot of interest to the sprints.
“The VRC have got a special bonus where if a Global Sprint Challenge winner of a previous leg, of which he is, wins that race on the final day there’s an extra $600,000 to the winner, which makes the total winners prize cheque $1.2million, so that’s a pretty good incentive.”
Slade Power’s stablemate Sole Power has also been invited to Australia for the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival, but he is likely to be set for the Group 1 Hong Kong International Sprint (1200m) rather than the VRC Sprint Classic.
The 2013 edition of the VRC Sprint Classic was won by Buffering, but Lankan Rupee has stamped himself as the best sprinter in Australia with his impressive wins in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m), Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) and Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m).
