Controlled approach for Macau star

Patrick Lee won’t have to wait long to find out how his star sprinter Good Control measures up to the best sprinters in Australia.
The Macau speedster will make his Australian debut alongside sprint sensation Hay List, former pin-up star Weekend Hussler and a host of other speed machines in Sunday's $250,000 Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m) at Flemington.

Trainer Lee concedes it's a tough initiation for the five-year-old son of Fasliyev, but said it was a good starting point and he would be much better for future assignments.

“It's a very strong field and I'm not really confident,” he said. “But it is his first start in Australia and he's probably not fit enough. After this start I think he'll be much, much better.”

While confident the gelding has improvement up his sleeve, Lee was impressed with what he saw from Good Control in a jumpout at Caulfield on Tuesday, just days after being released from quarantine.

That has Good Control somewhere near the form that has produced 12 wins and four placings from 19 starts. He is yet to miss a place in his homeland and is proven abroad, having finished second at Meydan during the Dubai international carnival.

But he'll need to run right up to that to match it with some big names in what shapes as one of the strongest Group 2 sprints conducted in Victoria for some time.

Headline act is boom John McNair-trained gelding Hay List who made it 12 wins from 14 starts when he demoralised his rivals in last Friday night's Group 1 Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley, while Weekend Hussler makes his long-awaited racetrack return.

The 2008 Australian Racehorse of the Year hasn't been to the races since pulling up sore after the Oakleigh Plate, which was his first start in over a year.

There is also a stunning support crew assembled, headed by Group 1 winners Sniper's Bullet, Swick and Rostova, classy Mark Kavanagh-trained pair Bank Robber and Catapulted and Peter Moody's speedy mare Avenue.

McNair doesn't need to be convinced of the credentials of any of Hay List's rivals, but said backing up became his preferred option after the Flemington meeting was put back a day and the owners indicated Hay List wouldn't be going on to Perth and Hong Kong after the Melbourne spring.

“The intention was to trial, but when the race got put back a day everything just seemed to be working in his favour and I thought it's probably sensible to go around in that race rather than trial,” he said. “He'll carry less weight in the race than a trial and I'm sure it's not going to hurt.

“But I feel this is by far the best field he's met and I'll be going there with a little bit of caution so to speak.”

The Gilgai Stakes follows Sunday's feature event, the $500,000 Group 1 Turnbull Stakes, and will be run at 4.20pm.