Having met their summer aims with Apulia, Lindsay Park now directs efforts toward an autumn schedule.
The geldings Apulia and Plymouth from the stable enter the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday, with trainers Ben, Will and J D Hayes eyeing progression to the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington March 28.
Apulia earned silver in the Victoria Derby as a three-year-old and was geared toward the Perth Summer Carnival, yielding the Group 2 Perth Cup for him.
After an injury-enforced year away, Apulia resurfaced last spring, scoring at Moonee Valley and Flemington in a row before Perth-bound.
In the wake of a midfield placing in the Group 1 Northerly Stakes, Apulia won the preparatory Ted Van Heemst Stakes (2100m) leading into his Perth Cup (2400m) score on January 1.
Apulia tuned up for Saturday with a Flemington jump-out last week, which Ben Hayes described as a positive for the stable.
“He’s got good residual fitness from his trip to Perth, and we’ve kept him happy since he’s been back,” Hayes said.
“He had a good hit-out on the course proper last week in the jump-out where he was good through the line, and it showed he is on track.
“The mile will be at the shorter end for him, but he has won good races over that track and trip previously, so he can run well fresh.
“He was a fantastic three-year-old, but we just had to be on the patient side since with an injury and he’s come back great.
“He nearly won a Derby, he was a centimetre away, and it’s great to have him back.”
The Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) on March 14 looms as Apulia’s next port of call toward the Australian Cup, per Hayes.
Plymouth treads the identical path, with Hayes and brothers impressed by the gelding’s first-up closing fourth to Tom Kitten in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes (1400m) on February 7 at Caulfield.
Plymouth’s return followed his spring highlights: the Benalla Cup win and runner-up spot in the Caulfield Cup.
“He was a great run first-up in the Kevin Heffernan and he’s on a similar path to the Australian Cup,” Hayes said.
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