AMBITIOUS LIST FOR HAY LIST

Hay List’s trainer John McNair says the outstanding sprinter could do all of his spring racing in Melbourne if the weather holds up in October, writes Brad Waters. Hay List (Statue Of Liberty) stamped himself as one of Australia’s most exciting prospects with a crushing five-length win in the Healy Stakes (Gr 3) at Eagle Farm on June 26.
McNair issued an ominous warning to Australia’s sprinting ranks, saying the son of Statue Of Liberty had coped with the float trip to Brisbane “unbelievably well”.
“I was just amazed with how well he was when he got back from Brisbane,” McNair said. “He was so much better when he got home; he really thrived on the trip away.”
McNair said there was “several options” to consider before deciding on a spring campaign for the rising five-year-old but Hay List is likely to make his Melbourne debut in the $200,000 McEwen Stakes (Gr 3) at Moonee Valley on September 11.
A pleasing performance in the McEwen Stakes is likely to set up Hay List for a shot at his maiden Group I win in the Manikato Stakes, also at Moonee Valley, on September 25. McNair said the weather would decide Hay List’s next run after the Manikato Stakes with The Shorts and the Gilgai Stakes to be run on the same day, October 2.
“He will run wherever the track is better on that day,” McNair said. “If it’s wet in Sydney and dry in Melbourne, he’ll run in the Gilgai but otherwise he’ll probably run in The Shorts.”
According to McNair, the Caulfield Sprint, Salinger Stakes and the Patinack Farm Classic are all on the agenda for Hay List but the trainer said the giant gelding would not run in all of the events.
McNair said he would travel to Melbourne “in the next week or two” to find accommodation for Hay List and his likely travelling companion, the speedy My Vegas.
McNair has booked Glyn Schofield to ride Hay List throughout his spring campaign.
- ANZ Bloodstock News 3 July 2010