Almanzor four-year-old Holymanz will be vying to secure his ticket back to New Zealand later this month when he heads to Geelong on Saturday to contest the A$300,000 Coastal Classic (1700m).
Raced by Cambridge Stud principals Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Holymanz is earmarked to head to Ellerslie on January 27 for the $1 million Elsdon Park Aotearoa Classic (1600m) if he performs up to expectations this weekend.
“We are hoping that he runs well enough tomorrow to put himself in the picture for the $1 million race on Karaka Million night,” Cambridge Stud chief executive Henry Plumptre said.
“We would love to get him here for that race. He has got a high enough rating to get into the field but obviously he needs to run well at Geelong. It is a pretty competitive field, but it is worth A$300,000 so you would expect it to be.”
Cambridge Stud purchased the chestnut son of their shuttle stallion Almanzor for A$400,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in conjunction with Nicolas de Chambure of Haras d’Etreham, home to the high-class stallion in the Northern Hemisphere.
He was entrusted to the care of trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace for whom he has won three and placed in three of his 11 starts.
If given the green light to head across the Tasman, it could be a hit-and-run mission for the four-year-old, however, Plumptre said they will leave that decision up to his handlers.
“We will leave it up to Ciaron. The only request that we have had in the horse’s career is that he goes where he is best placed,” Plumptre said.
“We thought that race on Karaka Million night, on what will probably be a good surface at Ellerslie, would be a good target race for him.
“After that, if Ciaron said that he would bring him back and give him a freshen-up for Sydney in the autumn, we wouldn’t argue with that.
“We could look at something like the Herbie Dyke (Gr.1, 2000m) but we have probably got that pretty well covered with a mare like Aquacade.
“The important thing about Holymanz is that he is an Almanzor and you are trying to show him off in the best races. Whether that is in Australia so be it, but if he can win a $1 million race at Ellerslie that will be the cream on the cake.”
Holymanz showed plenty of promise early on, having won two and placed in two of his first five starts, before his confidence was dented following a fall in the Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m) last year.
It has taken time to rebuild that confidence and Plumptre believes they have now achieved that.
“It took him a long time to get over that fall in the Australian Guineas. Not just physically, but mentally it knocked him around,” Plumptre said.
“I think we could safely say that the early part of the spring last year he was probably still thinking about that fall a little bit. He appears to have got his confidence back now and he trialled pretty well the other day. Michael Dee’s (jockey) feedback was really good. We are going into the race with some hope and confidence."