The Melbourne Spring Carnival may officially kick-off at Caulfield but in terms of Grand Finals, they are still months away.
And for the early season three-year-olds who displayed above average ability in their juvenile season, the Caulfield meeting will give their trainers a sense of where they sit in the pecking order.
The Ben and Jd Hayes-trained Tijuana is one such example, starting his spring campaign in the Group 3 McNeil Stakes (1200m) on Saturday.
Lindsay Park, like most other stables with an impressive male two-year-old winner, has the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas in October as a target, but JD Hayes know there is still a lot of water to go under the bridge before that goal is reached.
“The Grand Final that we have set for him is still quite a way away,” Hayes said.
“He’s got a lot of improvement to come, but as long as he’s doing his best work late, we’ll be very happy and he’s a quality horse, so it’s good to see him back at the races.
“The pie in the sky is hopefully the Caulfield Guineas, but at this time of year there’s a million races around that could be suitable if that doesn’t eventuate.”
Hayes expects the 1200m journey to be too short and the opposition he is up against much tougher than the maiden company Tijuana scored in on debut before the colt’s success in the Listed Anzac Day Stakes (1400m) at his only other start.
But in saying that, Hayes could not have been prouder of the way Tijuana went about his work in winning those two starts, especially the Anzac Day Stakes.
“He looked good winning that so this will set him up nicely for his second run, which is likely to be the Exford Plate (1400m) at Flemington,” Hayes said.
“He’s come back a bigger and stronger type, being that age of development being two turning three.
“I think if he can improve from last preparation as he looked quite good winning that Anzac Day Stakes, he could be a force to be reckoned with.
“We’ve been happy with his trials, but he’s been a horse that saves it for game day, so we’ll hopefully see a bit more on Saturday.”
