Three Horses, Three Group 1’s For Macdonald

Southern Speed

Southern Speed will next race in the Mackinnon Stakes

Leon Macdonald admits he’s still coming down from the high of two weeks ago when Southern Speed gave him the thrill of his career in winning the Caulfield Cup.

There were no doubt a few sore heads in the days following the win before the focus started to shift back towards racing and how they were going to claim their next big triumph.

While he may only have a small team in Melbourne at the moment Macdonald is blessed by the fact he’s managed to place his runners in the most attractive events.

In fact on a weekend where there are four Group 1 races, Macdonald will be represented in three of them.

What’s more he’s probably a hope in each of them as well headlined by Southern Speed’s entry in the Mackinnon Stakes.

She drops back to the 200m here and jumps in weight by three and a half kilo’s but Macdonald says she’s ready to go in what will be her final run this campaign.

“She’s going to run there, her work has been very good, we’re happy with her,” he said.

“Some of the horses she met in the Caulfield Cup have gone up to 59kg, it doesn’t work that badly against her.”

There have even been a few murmurs mentioning the word ‘improved’ in regards to Southern Speed and if that is the case she’d be nearly unbeatable come Saturday.

It’s a bit of a different story for Perfect Punch in the Victoria Derby, he needs to overcome the rampaging Manawanui as well as a host of other talented staying prospects.

Like the rest of them Macdonald simply doesn’t know if he’ll handle the 2500m, but his breeding suggests he’s destined for Derby success.

“He’s by Starcraft a Derby winner, his mother is by a Japanese Derby winner…so we’re banking on that,” he said.

In the final Group 1 it will be Majestic Music in the Myer Classic, she faces a tough test up against the likes of Red Tracer and More Joyous.

“I think her run in the Rupert Clarke was very good…we’re happy with her too,” Macdonald said.

“She can be competitive in these races, she finds them hard to win but so do a lot of horses.

“She is better suited at Flemington than Caulfield.”

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