Adelaide-based sprinter Lingani will chase a historic double when she lines up in the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield this Saturday.
The four-year-old mare will attempt to give trainers Peter and Belinda Blanch their first Melbourne victory while also aiming to become the first Stakes winner in the city to have kicked off her career with a maiden win on Kangaroo Island.
Although Empress Waltz managed a Flemington win on Melbourne Cup Day in 2002 after winning on Kangaroo Island, she never landed a black-type race in Melbourne.
Lingani’s Kangaroo Island debut was eye-catching, bolting in by 6.3 lengths and quickly catching the attention of rival stables.
“I like taking young horses there that are still not there mentally,” said Peter Blanch.
“We have two or three days over there. It’s a good experience for them, and I’ve done it with a lot of horses that have come back and won city races.
“She didn’t get under anyone’s guard over there either.
“I did have a big stable’s racing manager from Ballarat ring on the Sunday morning after she won just to inquire whether she might be for sale.
“So, someone was watching her.”
Lingani is the standout of the Blanch stable, which houses around a dozen horses in Morphettville. She captured the Listed Lightning Stakes last winter before injury halted a planned Melbourne autumn tilt.
“She trialled up and was ready to race in January but just tweaked a hamstring in a jump-out, so we decided to give her some time off,” Blanch explained.
“Sometimes a negative can be a positive because she has come back bigger and stronger.”
Lingani resumed with a fourth at Morphettville Parks on June 28, and Blanch believes the mare has improved sharply since.
“She can’t be any better. She came through the run well the other day as she needed it,” he said.
“We rode her conservatively from the barrier, just to make sure she hit the line, and she did that.
“She had a good blow afterwards, but since then she’s come on, her coat has come on, so it’s time to have a look.”
Paul Gatt will be in the saddle again, with the team making the drive to Caulfield on Saturday morning after an overnight stay with harness trainer David Miles near the airport.
“It’s an expensive trip to come, but it’s worthwhile if you think you’ve got the right horse,” Blanch said.
“When we’ve got the right horse, we like to go, but a win has eluded us so far. We’ve had a few seconds, so fingers crossed.”
Those following betting markets should keep an eye on Lingani’s bold Caulfield bid in the Sir John Monash Stakes.
