Gentian Blue Aims Up at Caulfield

Media Release - Thursday August 15

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.Gentian Blue will contest the Vale Catherine Rae (1400m) at Caulfield on Saturday.  Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images

“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 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.

Advertisement

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. – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

Advertisment
More Reading...
Antrim Coast to Fly Flag for The Oaks Stud
The well-renowned colours of The Oaks Stud will feature across two feature Trans-Tasman meetings this week, kicking off with Antrim Coast lining up in the Listed Furphy Plate (1800m) on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday November 5
Here is the full list of 145 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Melbourne Cup Pedigree Analysis - Do It Yourself
Breednet has produced a great page with click through to five generation pedigrees for all the Melbourne Cup runners, so for amateur pedigree buffs looking to have a Cup flutter based pedigree here’s your chance  to DIY it!
Coolmore Set Justify Fee for 2025
Coolmore have announced the US fee for Justify in 2025 with the undefeated Triple Crown winner priced at $US250,000 to head  their roster of 16 stallions at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
2024 Melbourne Cup Result - It's Knights Choice
The 2024 Melbourne Cup has been run and won with Knight’s Choice, a five-year-old gelding by Extreme Choice victorious.
Kiwi Bred Grey Wins Subzero for OTI at Flemington
New Zealand-bred gelding Cloudland proved a handful for James McDonald at Flemington on Tuesday, but the champion jockey was in a forgiving mood after they had claimed top honours in the Subzero Handicap.
El Vencedor wins G3 Balmerino Stakes
El Vencedor is making a habit of picking up major victories at Ellerslie, adding the Gr.3 Balmerino Stakes (2000m) to his burgeoning record at Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup Day meeting.
Kiwi Bred Gringotts Wins $3million Big Dance
Talented New Zealand-bred gelding Gringotts(NZ) (Per Incanto) delivered a big payday for his connections with victory in Tuesday’s A$3 million Big Dance (1600m) at Randwick.
Magic Nick Strikes Again – Fastnet Rock x Galileo
The Fastnet Rock x Galileo nick has been on fire in Melbourne this spring producing Cox Plate winner Via Sistina (IRE) and leading Melbourne Cup contender Buckaroo (GB) and it struck again overnight in the UK with a brand new stakes-winner in Military Academy, who captured the Listed Floodlit Stakes (1m4f) at Kempton.
More Stakes Success for Air Assault
Group I placed last season in the SA Derby, talented gelding Air Assault kept the winning run going for Victoria Derby winning trainer Andrew Gluyas when taking out the Listed SAJC John Letts Cup (1800m) at Morphettville on Melbourne Cup Day.