A feature race on Melbourne Cup day could figure in the plans for in-form gelding Strombus after he took his record to two wins from his past three starts at the midweek Kensington meeting.
Starting a $2.70 unibet favourite, the five-year-old finished strongly down the outside to win Wednesday’s PKF Global Handicap (1400m) by two lengths over Convincebility ($6) with Smart Little Miss ($7.50) third.
Winning trainer John O’Shea will now consider attempting to qualify Strombus for either the $3 million Big Dance (1600m) or $750,000 Little Dance (1600m), both run on November 7 at Randwick.
But first Strombus will need to prove he can stretch out to 1600 metres.
“If he can get a mile, we might try to qualify him for a ‘Dance’, because he can get down in the weights,” O’Shea said.
“He carried a bunch of weight today (60 kilos) and did a good job. The key for him is, if he can get a mile down the road, that will really open a few doors for him.”
Strombus has now won four of his 18 starts, three of those coming on Randwick’s inside Kensington track.
While he is earning a reputation as a course specialist, O’Shea says the real factor has been time.
“He has just been slow, as all those Kiwi horses are, to learn his craft,” O’Shea said.
“He executed really well, got into a beautiful rhythm and when he does that, he always lets down really well.
“He’s going along the right way.”
Earlier in the day, Chris Waller produced a promising staying type in three-year-old Carrazana, who broke his maiden in convincing fashion in the Tresemme & Omo Handicap (1300m).
By New Zealand-based stallion Almanzor, Carrazana is expected to continue to improve as he is stretched out in journey.
Waller trains Almanzor’s most successful racehorse to date in Victoria Derby winner Manzoice and like Carrazana, Manzoice was a 1300m city winner at his second start last August before capturing the Group 1 at his sixth appearance.
“Being an Almanzor, you’d expect him to get out over ground,” Waller’s stable representative Charlie Duckworth said.
“They’re never early types, but we had good success with them last year and hopefully we can continue to do the same this year.”