Trainer Sean Casey has elected to bypass the Hannans Handicap (1400m) with Saturday’s victorious Farnley Stakes (1400m) winner, Stocks.
Kalgoorlie’s premier sprint on September 22 was on the radar for Stocks, but Casey’s preferred option is to tackle feature races at home.
“I obviously had the Hannans in our sights, but now that he has that black-type against his name we can give him a couple of weeks off before heading to races like the Northerly Stakes or even the Northam Cup and York Cups,” Daly said on The Sports Daily.
“I’m not happy to miss the Hannans because it’s a race everyone wants to win, but I’m a little concerned he is used to running on rain affected tracks and it will be a culture shock to throw him straight on firm ground at that level.
“He is just too good a horse to risk.”
Stocks, a son of Exceed And Excel, gave the Casey family a special milestone with Sean sharing his first black-type success in partnership with son and jockey, Jake.
Sean lavished praise on the talented young apprentice who had Stocks in a prominent position throughout before launching his run in the straight.
“To match it up and to ride so coolly in a race like that was very pleasing,” Casey said.
“To see the way he composed himself shows he can ride at that level on a good horse.”
“He has learned a lot about the horse by studying replays and so forth.
“He timed his run perfectly and it was the perfect ride.”
RWWA: Julio Santarelli