Kris Lees is lukewarm on embarking upon another Melbourne Cup campaign with Tancred Stakes winner Kalapour, although he will keep his options open for now.
The gelding reached a career peak during the autumn with his Group 1 triumph before finishing third behind Circle Of Fire and Athabascan in the Sydney Cup.
That was his second test at 3200-metres after he was unplaced in last year’s Melbourne Cup and while Lees said Kalapour would be entered for Australia’s most famous race again this year, he was no certainty to take that path.
“I don’t know that he is a genuine two-miler, but he’ll be nominated and we’ll see where he sits,” Lees said.
Kalapour will edge a step closer to his seasonal return when he lines up in his second trial of the campaign over 1200m at Wyong on Monday.
While he turns eight later in the week, Lees says the horse is shaping up as well as ever and having raced just 24 times, he is relatively lightly exposed for his age.
The gelding is scheduled to resume in the Group 3 Premier’s Cup (2000m) at Randwick on August 24 with Lees keeping an open mind on the remainder of Kalapour’s campaign.
“He will have another trial on Monday and he will probably resume in the Premier’s Cup in four weeks’ time,” he said.
“I can’t fault him. He is still showing a good zest going to trackwork and all his work would suggest that he is coming up well.
“We’ve just got to place him right now.”
Stablemate and The Ingham winner Loch Eagle is due to step out for his second trial over 1000m at Wyong, while Angela Davies’ promising sprinter Our Kobison will also be in action in an 845m heat.