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“The barrier is a bit tricky obviously, but they might go pretty hard up front I would imagine, and he’s not one that needs to mix it with them.
“The market doesn’t like him much, but we don’t really care about that.
“And we think he will be better over that bit further.”
Keys, also a part-owner, did not nominate Alibaba for the group 1 Blue Diamond or Golden Slipper, but said the door was open to the premier two-year-old races if he fired on Saturday. Late entry for the Blue Diamond Stakes costs $55,000, due by February 16, while the Golden Slipper fee is $150,000.
“It’s always tricky,” Keys said.
“We made a decision when we bought a couple out of Sydney that we would pay up for the race series, because you never know with Diamonds and Slippers, what can run at that stage.
“You can’t pay them all up for everything, so we made a decision that if he’s good enough in this series, and you get more than one go in it, you can win enough money to put yourself in the other races if you want to go in them.
“So it wasn’t that hard a decision really. With this money on offer, it’s worth having a crack at.”
Keys, who has been training in Victoria since the early 1980s and is now in partnership with daughter, Kasey, has sent only a handful of runners to Sydney over his career. His biggest moment in NSW came when $151 outsider Like A Carousel was third in the 2015 group 1 Sydney Cup at Randwick.
“We’ve had a couple of chances up here, but nothing like this one,” he said.
Trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes opted to give the Millennium a second Victorian runner on Friday when scratching Jacaranda from the Blue Diamond Prelude for fillies at Caulfield.
The Home Affairs-Gracie’s Lass filly, a $300,000 Coolmore purchase, was a $7.50 chance after drawing gate six. She was an easy winner of a three-horse 1100m Seymour maiden on debut.
First Kiwi raider a throw at the stumps
New Zealand trainer Andrew Forsman hopes a “50-50” call to bring Lassified to Randwick for the $2 million Inglis Millennium will pay off for connections.
The Stay Inside filly, a $110,000 buy for the Cambridge trainer and Andrew Williams Bloodstock, will become the first Kiwi-trained horse to compete in the 1100m Millennium for two-year-olds, which was first held in 2019.
Lassified ($41) is staying at the Randwick stables of John Sargent after being flown to Sydney on Wednesday night, and is due to head home on Sunday.
She has won two of her three starts in New Zealand and put herself in the frame for the Millennium with victory last time out in the listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m) at Trentham.
Andrew Forsman with jockey Harry Coffey at Caulfield in 2022.Credit: Racing Photos
“Obviously, we bought her initially just to get home to New Zealand and target some black type, and she’s a stakes winner now, so we ticked that box,” Forsman said.
“We were 50-50 to take her over. It’s a big ask. Often our form doesn’t stack up, the two-year-old form in particular, so it’s hard to know.
“We’re having a bit of a throw at the stumps as much as anything, but she’s eligible for the race and, although we don’t exactly how we will line up, it’s probably worth finding out.”
Forsman said the only negative this week for Lassified was the draw in 12.
“She’s a jump-and-run type,” he said.
“She’s not overly big, but she certainly tries very hard.
“It’s a bit of a shame about the barrier draw. I thought if she drew inside five, six, she would have been a lot better off.
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“She’s coped with the travel back to Sydney really well and her attitude is her biggest asset. Hopefully, she can measure up and run a respectable race.”
Another incentive is Lassified’s all-female ownership, which makes her eligible for the Inglis Pink Bonus. An extra $400,000 in prizemoney is on offer to runners with at least 75 per cent female ownership. Lassified, Profitabelle and Oh Yes She Did are in contention. The first home of the trio wins at least $40,000. If that horse wins the race, they get the whole $400,000 on top of the $1.15m first prize.
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