Plans remain uncertain for exceptionally-bred harness racing youngster Madeeba despite his victory at Horsham yesterday.
Scoring at his second start, the Maree Caldow-trained freshman is eligible for several majors, but his wayward manners may have altered connection’s original schedule.
Looking to contest the Vicbred Platinum Series with the two-year-old, Caldow is likely to bypass the Empire Stallions-sponsored feature.
“He is out of the draw because of his little mistake at the start yesterday, which could see him miss the Platinum,” Caldow’s reinsman-husband, John, said.
“The heats are next week, with the Final eight days later, which means he will be ODM for the series.
“Over 1700 metres, that makes it pretty tough, so we may give it a miss and work on getting him back in the draw before the Vicbred heats start up in June.
“He’s also got the Breeders’ Crown after that, so there are still plenty of options.”
Galloping during the score-up, which saw him miss the start by a conservative 20 metres, Madeeba was sent forward three-wide as soon as he settled into stride.
Quickly navigating the field, Madeeba worked his way to the front as Warminster was eased to take the trail.
With John sitting quietly in the cart, the colt sprinted to a five-and-a-half metre win from Streetside Classic, with Warminster a head away third.
“He is a pretty nice type, which goes well,” John said. “He has always shown a bit of ability and is definitely improving.
“Hopefully he can keep improving as the season goes on, but I can’t see any reason why he won’t.”
By Courage Under Fire, Madeeba is from former handy mare and good producer, Mesmerizing, which is also the dam of Group One winner, Messini.
“She also has a three-year-old by Grinfromeartoear which is about three weeks from trialling,” John said.
“He goes already too, but has just been too overgrown to race. There has never been anything wrong with him, he just kept growing and simply wasn’t ready.
“With a bit of luck he can make up for lost time.”
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PAUL COURTS