Springtime in Melbourne the talk is centred around the Caulfield Cup, Melbourne Cup, the Cox Plate and what may be heading out from Europe.
With Cups weights to be announced next week, that talk of Cups horses will only increase and the countdown to the spring features will be on in earnest.
Trainer Phillip Stokes may not have a European entrant heading to Flemington on Saturday, but he has an interesting import from Brazil stepping out for the first time in Australia.
Olympic Korchnoi, a Group 1 placegetter, runs in the Australian Childhood Foundation Plate (1700m).
Owned in Singapore, Olympic Korchnoi made his way to Stokes’ yard via Hong Kong with the trainer saying the five-year-old entire is a beautiful specimen, but he is unsure of what he will see on Saturday.
“We’ve given him a couple of jump-outs and he’s a dead-set stayer to me,” Stokes said.
“I think he’s a 2000-metre plus horse, so the 1700 metres is probably going to be too short for him.
“He’s a five-year-old entire, so we’ll have to see how he parades. He might go to Flemington and completely lose it.”
Olympic Korchnoi had 10 starts in Brazil for a win and six placings, earning the equivalent of $32,000 in prize money.
Feet issues meant Olympic Korchnoi did not start in Hong Kong while adding to Stokes’ frustration is the entire’s rating of 84.
“Where he measures up, we’ll know more after Saturday,” Stokes said.
“He’s come here with a rating of 84. I was hoping he would be a 70 and I could kick him off in something a bit weaker as he’s only won one race and earned only $30,000 in prize money.”
While Olympic Korchnoi is a $101 outsider with TAB, Stokes also has the $3.50 favourite Lyrical Lad down to contest Saturday’s race.
Lyrical Lad was a last start winner over 1620m at Flemington on August 6.
“He’s drawn to get the right run and you don’t have to worry about conditions with him. He runs on anything,” Stokes said.