Good Ba Ba on track, Clevadude out

Monday 14 January 2013, 1:41pm

Trainer Rick Hore-Lacy will exploit the conditions of Saturday's Listed Kensington Stakes at Flemington as he guides former Hong Kong star Good Ba Ba to his main comeback mission.

Thanks to an astute piece of race selection by Hore-Lacy, Good Ba Ba, one of the highest stakes earners in training in Australia, will carry 56kg, four kilos less than horses who have earned a fraction of his $9 million.

And assuming he doesn't win on Saturday, Good Ba Ba will go into the Carlyon Cup at Caulfield next month with a similar advantage under the set weights with penalties conditions.

The nine-year-old Good Ba Ba controversially came back from a 20-month break to finish an outstanding fourth with 60.5kg in the Standish Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on New Year's Day.

The long break from racing - and consequently from the winner's list - means he avoids penalties that apply to horses who have won Group One races or races over a certain value.

Hore-Lacy said the 1000m of Saturday's race will be too short for Good Ba Ba whose claim to fame is the three Group One Hong Kong Miles he won from 2007 to 2009.

"He'll still run a good race on Saturday, but they'll go way too quickly for him," Hore-Lacy said.

"He'll be last settling down."

"The Carlyon Cup at Caulfield in a couple of weeks is the better race, the distance suits him and he gets in on the minimum."

While all is well with the veteran of Hore-Lacy's team, his talented youngster Clevadude will head to the paddock after his disappointing run in Saturday's $2 million Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic on the Gold Coast.

Clevadude, the second favourite, began slowly from his wide barrier, didn't handle the home turn and finished 14th of the 16 runners.

Hore-Lacy said on Monday he had also shown signs of soreness in a foreleg but it wasn't serious.

"He's not lame but I was looking for an excuse to put him out," he said.

Clevadude will have a three month spell and is likely to return to racing in July or August.

– AAP

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