Kris Lees gun mare Lucia Valentina will float to Melbourne on Saturday night on her path to the $3 million Caulfield Cup (2400m). Lees confirmed with Racing Network on Thursday the mare would definitely be set on a Caulfield Cup mission.
“She comes to Melbourne on Saturday night, then she’ll go to the Turnbull Stakes on her way to the Caulfield Cup.
"We’ve decided that is the way we will go with her now,” Lees said.
He said the mare had come through her race last Saturday in the Group 1 George Main Stakes extremely well.
”It looked like a race with no pace and turned out that way.
"The two horses who sat on the pace and had the best runs fought the race out,” Lees said.
“She ran well, pulled up great and we’re off to Melbourne,” he said.
“I’m sure she’ll be very competitive in both of those races,” he added.
Lees has Fine Bubbles running in the Group 3 $300,000 Golden Pendant (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday and he’s happy there has been a bit of rain in and around Sydney.
“That has certainly helped and she seems in really good order,” he said.
Fine Bubbles is going into the Golden Pendant off a career-best performance to win the Group 3 $125,000 Tibbie Stakes (1400m) at Newcastle on September 14.
“I must say the way she went surprised me a bit with that turn of foot, but hopefully she will come out and do it again.”
Lees said he felt the top-weight, Catkins, was the one they all had to beat.