Import to make his mark at the Ballarat Cup meeting

One of syndicator OTI’s latest imports Deakin is set to make his Australian debut at the Ballarat Cup meeting on Saturday.

In the care of Phillip Stokes at Pakenham, Deakin runs in the McKellar Mile (1600m), just his second start at a race of that distance.

Deakin made his debut as a two-year-old over 1637m in October 2022 before stepping straight up in journey to 2012m at his next outing.

Stokes said Deakin would appreciate getting out in trip, but also noted the gelding could figure in the money at his Australian debut on Saturday.

“He’s a lovely horse and is certainly going to get a lot further,” Stokes said.

“He’s been good in his trackwork, he’s been sharp, and he could run a place first-up as he’s had three jump-outs and has been good in all of them.”

Stokes said Deakin had been in his system for around three months and was still acclimatising to Australian conditions.

The trainer added he was in a quandary as to what the best course of action was for the gelding going forward, but the Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville in March, a race Stokes won with Daqiansweet Junior in 2022, could be a possibility for the stayer.

“He’s still acclimatising but I just want to take him through a few steps,” Stokes said.

“If I tipped him out now, we would get a bit out of whack, so I wouldn’t mind keeping him going for a couple of more runs.

“I’d like to think that we could get to the Adelaide Cup this prep and then I can give him a break and see where he ends up in the spring.

“But I like the horse.”

Deakin was a dual winner in Ireland over 2313m and 2514m and has not raced since finishing fifth at Roscommon back in July.