Kent has sights on VRC St Leger

[Wandering Eyes]

Mick Kent will keep his two emerging young stayers apart, with little-known Kiwi-bred Samuel Langhorne (NZ) (Shocking) to represent the Cranbourne trainer in next Tuesday’s VRC St Leger (2800m) at Flemington.

Kent had also nominated Northern Barrage for the $300,000 race, but he said he would now be reserved for next month’s Gr.1 SA Derby (2500m), leaving Samuel Langhorne to race for the 2800-metre Listed event.

“I really like him as a stayer of the future,” Kent said of the last-start maiden winner Samuel Langhorne.

“He quite an immature horse. In his maiden win, he got to the front very early and put his ears up and shied at the winning post, so I’ve put a nose roll on him and that seems to have fixed that.

“He’ll run the trip (2800m) no problem. He’s just a little bit babyish still, but I like him.”

The origin of Samuel Langhorne’s name is easily explained by his three-quarter brother Mark Twain (NZ) (Shocking), who ran fourth in the Gr.1 NZ Derby (2400m) before having no luck on a wet track in the Gr.1 ATC Derby (2400m) at Randwick this autumn.

Kent said Mark Twain looked a Melbourne Cup horse of the future and he had similar hopes for Samuel Langhorne.

“He’s a little more backward,” he said. “He’s not as mature as Mark Twain. He’s physically tall but a light horse and just wants more time, so we’ll run him here and turn him out after that.

“He stays really well. We’ll go through our grades. If he runs well here, maybe the back end of spring. There’s no rush (for a Melbourne Cup) this year.”

As for Northern Barrage, who last start ran third in the Galileo Final (2400m) at Sandown, Kent said he was firmly on the path to the SA Derby.

“He’ll probably go straight to the derby,” Kent said. “Last start, we just rode him too close. He drew the outside barrier and should have just followed the winner, but we got left in front a long way out.

“He’d had a few weeks between runs, so he’ll improve, and I am happy enough to go to Adelaide with him.”

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