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| Staff Writer |
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Trainer Adrian Bott has confirmed that Hawaii Five Oh, the Group One placegetter, is being prepared for another prestigious Sydney feature. The stable's two Everest runners, Hawaii Five Oh and Alcohol Free, will both continue their spring campaigns in Sydney. Hawaii Five Oh will focus on targeting the Golden Eagle, while Alcohol Free will compete for a spot in The Invitation.
Hawaii Five Oh placed sixth in The Everest, crossing the finish line just behind Think About It. Despite starting from a wide gate and initially falling back, Hawaii Five Oh made a great effort in the later stages of the race. Bott, the trainer, believes that Hawaii Five Oh is capable of performing even better in races covering more distance. Looking ahead, Bott sees the upcoming A$10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill as the perfect opportunity for Hawaii Five Oh to step up to a 1500m race, which is ideal for his abilities.
“I can’t wait for Hawaii to get to the Golden Eagle,” Bott told Sky Racing radio.
“The draw hurt us a little in The Everest, we didn’t quite get the run in transit that we were hoping to get, but no doubt he’s ready to bounce back and win a big one himself.
“He’s in really good order and has come through that race in great shape.”
Bott has expressed his desire for Alcohol Free to compete in longer distances. Despite her lack of success in her recent runs, he firmly believes that the mare, a multiple Group One champion, will leave her mark in Australia. His ultimate goal is for her to participate in the A$2 million The Invitation at Randwick in the upcoming week, where he hopes she can perform well after finishing last in the Everest field.
“She is certainly going much better than that and she’s a better mare than that,” he said.
“Hopefully we can find the right conditions for her at some point over the carnival here, find the right race.”
This coming weekend, Bott and Gai Waterhouse will be bringing a strong team to Randwick, led by Converge and Zoumon in the A$1 million Five Diamonds Prelude. Stablemate Journalism is entered in both the Prelude and the Big Dance Wildcard, but has a more favorable draw in the latter with gate seven compared to barrier 15 in the Five Diamonds prelude. Converge, who drew 13, is looking to bounce back from an unplaced run in the Epsom Handicap, and Bott is optimistic that a class drop will make a difference.
“He obviously has to carry a bit of weight with the penalties here (59.5kg), but it’s one of the easier races we’ve put him in over the last twelve months,” Bott said.
“Hopefully that can help him be better placed and try to get back to some winning form.”
Bott is eagerly anticipating the debuts of 2YO’s Shangri La Express and The Three Hundred in the Kirkham Plate. These promising youngsters are being tested for a potential entry in the Golden Gift next month.
“These are the types, making their debuts at this time of year, you’re looking towards a Golden Gift (with) and trying to qualify them for that,” Bott said.
“The Three Hundred has had two impressive trials at Warwick Farm. He’s shown nice improvement, so he’s got a good foundation.
“Shangri La Express, just off the one trial but I thought he was very good. He’s open to some nice improvement off the back of that.”