King Zephyr is ready to make the leap into black-type racing, with trainer Grahame Begg confident the consistent gelding is ready for the Listed Straight Six (1200m) at Flemington this weekend.
The four-year-old has won five of his six starts, including his last four in a row, and could be on a path to the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) if all goes to plan.
Begg has managed the horse’s rise through the grades carefully but admits it’s time to raise the bar if they want to aim at elite company in Brisbane.
“I’ve had this race earmarked for some time,” Begg said.
“We thought if the horse is to go to Queensland, he will need to get quite a significant ratings boost especially if you are thinking of a Stradbroke, or something like that.
“He’s still unexposed to a higher grade of horse, but this would give us that opportunity if could get the job done on Saturday to boost his rating and maybe get into the Stradbroke.
“If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. We can pull the pin, don’t go to Queensland and may be even have a look around for something else.”
With a modest rating of 82, King Zephyr finds himself well-treated at the weights due to a high-rated rival carrying topweight, and Begg says that levels the playing field somewhat.
Dropping back from a winning run over 1400m, King Zephyr will face the challenge of racing down the straight and potentially on a soft surface.
“We don’t know about him down the straight, so that will be a new challenge, and he is back to 1200 metres, but he is three weeks between runs,” Begg said.
“He’s had a nice bit of down time and has freshened up well, but we feel Flemington will suit him and he is an adaptable horse as nothing seems to worry him.
“There may be up to 10 mils of rain on the day, so it might be similar conditions to what he raced on last time and that didn’t bother him.
“If it is a little worse, the breed, the Hallowed Crown’s, they do seem to handle the ground, but you don’t know until you try them on it, but I think he will be OK.”
Punters keen to follow King Zephyr’s run can compare prices across the top betting sites in Australia for Saturday’s Straight Six.