Gentian Blue is tackling Caulfield riches

[Wandering Eyes]

Cambridge trainer Maxim van Lierde dreamed of campaigning a horse in Melbourne when he spent time at Lindsay Park last year, and now that has turned into a reality.

“Last year I took a horse called Henry Robin over to Lindsay Park and I spent over two weeks with them,” van Lierde said.

“I got on quite well with Will (Hayes, co-trainer) especially because I did quite a lot of track work with him. We have become good friends over the last year and the knowledge that they have got is second to none. He is very giving with his advice and knowledge, which has helped us immensely.”

With victory at Ellerslie on Derby Day in March and a fifth placing in the Gr.3 Cuddle Stakes (1400m at Trentham a fortnight later, Gentian Blue (NZ) (Reliable Man)  identified herself as a possible candidate to campaign in Melbourne, and that fate was sealed with a pleasing first-up placing over 1400m at Ruakaka in June.

The six-year-old mare travelled to Melbourne earlier this month where she beat just the one runner home in her Australian debut over 1620m at Flemington, but van Lierde said she can be forgiven for that run.

“It didn’t look very good to the eye but she was five weeks between runs and she had a bit of a virus when she got there,” van Lierde said. “We were on the back foot a little bit, but she has come on immensely from the run.”

Van Lierde’s wife, Samantha, is currently across the Tasman with their two-win mare, who is set to line-up at Caulfield on Saturday in the Vale Catherine Rae (1400m) where she will jump from barrier six with good friend Daniel Stackhouse aboard.

“Dan Stackhouse is a good friend of my wife, Sam, they grew up riding ponies together. It is a bit of a full-circle moment having him ride a horse for us,” van Lierde said.

“We probably rode her a little outside her comfort zone last start with the hot speed in the race, so we are just going to let her find her feet and hit the line. We are back in trip with the blinkers on, so we are expecting a much better performance.”

Initially set to be a two-run campaign, van Lierde said they may extend that on the advice of their Australian host.

“The initial plan was to head home after this run, but talking with Will he said the time we had with the virus, she is essentially only second-up on Saturday, so he thinks she will peak third-up over there,” van Lierde said. “We might as well look at one more run, but we will just see how she comes through Saturday.”

Van Lierde said they have enjoyed their Australian experience and he is hoping they can find another horse that is capable of testing their talent in the competitive racing jurisdiction.

“If we have got a horse that measures up, we will go over there and chase some prizemoney,” he said.

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