The Australian campaign for star New Zealand pacer Christen Me is on target.
The $2 million earner has resumed with two excellent victories for trainer Cran Dalgety, the latest last weekend at Addington where he proved too strong for his rivals after working hard throughout.
Christen Me will have his final lead-up this Saturday in the $20,000 Garden City Florist Winter Cup at Addington, where he will meet five rivals in the 3200m standing start event before boarding a flight for Sydney.
The seven-year-old gelding shares the 30m backmark with Mighty Flying Mac.
And Dalgety believes this will have him spot-on for the Aussie campaign.
“His health is a very good given how long he has been on the sidelines, I got very good feedback from Dex (Dexter Dunn – driver) following his effort last week because he’s a major percentage higher with his general wellbeing and he will keep improving with his fitness.” Dalgety said.
The Australian campaign takes in Sydney with the Gr.1 $100,000Len Smith Mile on June 29 followed by a trip north to Brisbane for the winter carnival where his feature race target is the Gr.1 $200,000 Blacks A Fake on July 16.
Christen Me is no stranger to Australian success with feature race victories including the Miracle Mile, Hunter Cup, Victoria Cup and Chariots Of Fire among others.
Owing to the fact that Christen Me has missed the bulk of the season because of injury, Dalgety is keen to make up for lost time.
“The timing of his injury was unfortunate because we were building nicely for the New Zealand Cup before things went awry in October. Now that he’s back to full health, these races in Australia make good appeal and provide a good foundation for the New Zealand Cup in November later this year.
“I’m keen to give him two runs in Sydney, I want a start on the track again before the Len Smith Mile and then we’ll look at two starts in Brisbane with the Sunshine Sprint followed by the main event, the Blacks A Fake.
“I’m trying not to be excited but I actually am about this campaign, I think it’s a good opportunity and the timing is right so everything is looking good.”
The Sunshine Sprint is a Gr.2 feature worth $50,000 on July 9.
Christen Me is also eligible for the UBET Picket Fence bonus of $50,000 if he can win three races during the Brisbane winter carnival including the Blacks A Fake.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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