Dan Meagher has chosen a more conservative first-up assignment for Singapore champion Lim’s Kosciuszko, who will make his Australian debut in the Listed Straight Six (1200m) at Flemington on Saturday instead of tackling the Group 1 Goodwood at Morphettville.

Initially considering a bold start at Group 1 level, Meagher ultimately decided the high-pressure race and the lengthy eight-hour float trip weren’t the right combination for the gelding’s first run in Australia.

“Going to The Goodwood, it would have been an eight-hour trip there and an eight-hour trip back,” Meagher said. “It was a proper Group 1 race, a good field, and he would have been having his first Australian run. I think I should lower my sights a little bit.”

Instead, the son of Kermadec, who has won 22 of his 29 career starts, will head up the Flemington straight, marking a new challenge for the well-travelled galloper. He’s also had to adapt to floating to the races—something he never did in Singapore where horses walked from stable to track.

“Winners like him, and he’s won some good races, should not be affected,” Meagher said of the straight-track test. “If he’s going good enough, he will show up in that race.”

Lim’s Kosciuszko has had three jump-outs, two of them at away tracks, to help him acclimate to the travel. His long-term aim remains the Queensland carnival, with entries in both the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup and Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane.

“He’s not getting any faster, and maybe he’s getting a bit slower, so I didn’t want to butcher him in a Group 1 and make him look bad,” Meagher said. “He’s been good to me, so we’ll see how he is, and we can head off to Brisbane if he ticks the box.”

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