Melbourne Options for Pike colt

Talented three-year-old Not An Option rounded out his campaign with a game third placing in Sunday’s Gr.3 Winx Guineas (1600m) at the Sunshine Coast.

The Tony Pike-trained colt went back to last with eventual winner Our Playboy, but unlike the winner who followed the rail home, Not An Option attempted to loop the field and ran home solidly for third.

“The run was super,” Pike said of the son of Not A Single Doubt. 

“He ended up getting shuffled back to near last, a mile off the speed and the winner saved a lot of ground up the fence. He just got wider and wider and wider from 600m and closed off really well. 

“It’s frustrating but encouraging going forward.

“He’s going to spell in Sydney at Limitless Lodge for probably two or three weeks and then a Melbourne program will be put together looking ahead to the spring.”

Not An Option, who sports the black and gold checks of Cambridge Stud proprietors Brendon and Jo Lindsay, showed that he was more than capable of getting a mile and potentially further.

“He’s had a lot of unfortunate hiccups through the last 18 months which aren’t his fault, but he seems to have come out the other end of it and two of his three runs were very good,” Pike said.

“If he can stretch it a bit more into his four-year-old season he shouldn’t be far away in some nice mile races in Melbourne. He’ll probably get a nice 2000m if the right race is around as well.”

 

Lucky Patch breaks 14-year-old record at Sha Tin

Francis Lui’s Lucky Patch proved too superior for his rivals in the Class 1 Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy Handicap (1200m).

The El Roca gelding clocked 1m 07.61s to lower Sacred Kingdom’s Class 1 mark of 1m 07.80s set in 2007.

Lui believes the four-year-old can progress to better class.

“If he can improve, I think he can be a Group horse. We might look at racing him in the Chief Executive’s Cup on opening day,” he said.

The Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap is a Class One event over 1200m run Hong Kong Jockey Clubs opening day of the new season in September.

The El Roca gelding, formerly known as Paleontologist was a two-time winner in Australia prior to export, and has since won three times in Hong Kong taking his career earnings over HK$5.8 million.

High aims for returning Rose

Melbourne Cup hopeful Tralee Rose has recovered from minor knee surgery and is back in work as trainer Symon Wilde sets his sights high for the spring.

The dominant off-season performer, who ran fourth in the Adelaide Cup as a $1.85 favourite, is currently $51 for the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).

Wilde said he was happy with how the daughter of Tavistock had returned as they build her fitness up towards the spring.

"She's done a couple of weeks, we are just building towards the spring with her," Wilde said.

"She had a minor operation on her knee and all seems to be good at the moment. She's come through it well.

"She is ticking along beautifully.

"We are not quite sure where we will kick her off yet. We are trying to work around The Bart Cummings, a couple of runs into The Bart Cummings."

Purchased by Cameron Cooke Bloodstock for $50,000 out of the Cambridge Stud draft at the 2018 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale, Tralee Rose is the lone winner from two to race out of the stakes-placed Zabeel mare Star Of Tralee.