New Stakes Mission For Alkhafif
- Friday, 11 June 2010 06:30
Three-year-old Alkhafif has revived stable hopes that he can score a feature race win in the Listed Creswick Stakes at Flemington.
Trainer David Hayes was almost resigned to the gelding being nothing more than a 1000-metre horse but has decided to give him his second chance at a stakes event on the back of encouraging thirds at his three runs this campaign.
His only other stakes-race attempt was last August when he finished fourth to Carrara in the Listed McKenzie Stakes at Moonee Valley over Saturday's distance of 1200m.
The Exceed And Excel gelding has raced 10 times but his only win was at his Caulfield debut in July last year when he shocked the stable with a barnstorming run from well back in a 16-horse field to score over 1000 metres at $41.
Hayes had hoped Alkhafif would have trained on last spring but an operation for a breathing problem derailed his campaign.
Stable manager Gary Fennessy said normally the stable would have "moved on" a horse like Alkhafif but he had been racing consistently.
"He is a good, genuine, tough horse but he had a wind operation and that probably took a length or two off him," Fennessy said.
"This race on Saturday is about his mark now."
Alkhafif's last-start third at Sandown was as mystifying as it was encouraging and ignited hopes that the gelding may yet win beyond 1000 metres.
"We thought he might be a 1000-metre horse but last start he looked like he needs 1200 metres," Fennessy said.
"He was running third coming down the hill but by the time he straightened up he was running eighth.
"He just lost his position for whatever reason but the last 100 metres he started to get going again and finished it off well."
Brent Stanley will ride Alkhafif for the first time but, like the gelding's race debut, the three-year-old is easy in early markets.
TAB Sportsbet rates him a $15 chance behind $2.50 favourite Dubleanny who has won four of her six starts, including her three runs this campaign.
The Mark Kavanagh-trained Undeniably ($3.90) and Darren Weir's Broken ($4.80), who is racing in blinkers for the first time, are considered best of the rest.
