Shock first-up winner Makram out to prove it was no fluke

Lindsay Park has the idea of travelling the eastern seaboard in coming months with last start surprise winner Makram.

But first Makram’s trainers Ben, Will and J D Hayes want to ensure the gelding’s first-up win at $151 with betting apps two weeks ago at Flemington was no fluke.

The imported galloper runs in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday which has the potential to lead to an All-Star Mile start over 1600m at Caulfield.

The winner of Saturday’s race is granted an invitation to start in the $4 million on March 16.

Makram came to Australia from the UK with high hopes and won at his second start for his new trainers and expectations were high for good spring campaign.

But Makram was ruled out on the eve of the 2022 Melbourne Cup and required surgery to insert screws into a fetlock joint.

That resulted in Makram running below par through 2023 and the decision was made to give him a decent spell after finishing rearwards in the Coongy Cup at Caulfield last October.

Makram returned on February 17 and ran down long odds-on favourite Jimmysstar at Flemington in a win that was not a complete shock to co-trainer J D Hayes.

“He had been trialling up super,” Hayes said.

“He’s a really good horse, but he just got lost in the wilderness after his surgery.

“He looks to be well and truly over that and I’m hoping on Saturday to prove that the first-up win, it wasn’t a fluke.”

Hayes said if Makram was to score on Saturday there was the likelihood the gelding would head to the All-Star Mile.

But he added there was plenty of other options in Melbourne, Sydney and potentially Brisbane later on in the winter.

“He’s one that has got so many options for us to work out where he runs. He could go to Sydney, he could go to Queensland,” Hayes said.

“He’s seasoned, he’s older and he’ll keep rollin’ around, so we’ll keep following the races around the country.”