The Lindsay Park team of Ben, Will and J D Hayes will leave a decision on their sole Caulfield Cup entrant Que Tempesta to as late as possible before deciding on whether to run the stayer.
An imported gelding, Que Tempesta had been on track for a start in Saturday’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) after his first two Australian starts but put a hole in his form when finishing second-last in the Group 1 The Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick on October 5 under Craig Williams.
The Lindsay Park team has until Tuesday morning to make a final decision, and Ben Hayes said it was 50-50 decision.
“We were really disappointed, to be honest,” Hayes said of The Metropolitan performance.
“I thought Craig rode him well but under pressure he didn’t find and looked as though he went through the motions a bit.
“I guess it was his first time up there, so maybe he had that as an excuse, but we’re going to have a good look at him.
“But he’s more likely not to run than to run.
“Unfortunately, we wanted him to be in better form heading towards such a big race, as he has ability, but he hasn’t got it quite together yet.”
Hayes said the Lindsay Park team would discuss a Caulfield Cup start with the owners of the gelding but favoured putting him away for the remainder of the spring.
He said there was a number of autumn options that could suit Que Tempesta in both Melbourne and Sydney.
“He’s got a habit of hanging in his races that we’ve got to get on top of, and it is only his first prep in Australia,” Hayes said.
“We were really happy with his first two runs and when Mark (Zahra) rode him he couldn’t fully ride him out because he was doing things wrong in the race.
“I think we’ll pull up stumps, reset him, and give him a proper break.
“It’s his first campaign, and that’s probably the way we’re leaning because he’s got the ability to be competitive in those types of races, which he showed in his first couple of starts.
“He’s now had the three runs, so hopefully in the autumn we can see the best of him, hopefully in a race like the Australian Cup.”
