Aurie’s Star Handicap 2025 kick-off for Melbourne Cup/Caulfield Cup hopeful
The Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap has long been a traditional first-up target for stayers on the road to the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup. This weekend, Leon and Troy Corstens and Will Larkin will adopt that approach with Lady In Pink as she kicks off her spring campaign at Flemington.
“Bart Cummings always used to start his Cups horses in this race, and Leon was with Bart for many years, so we’re taking a similar route,” Larkin said. “She tends to improve as she gets deeper into a prep. We opted to run her here first-up rather than straight into the Group 2 P B Lawrence Stakes (1400m).”
If she performs well, Lady In Pink is expected to progress to the Heatherlie Stakes (1700m) at Caulfield two weeks after the P B Lawrence. “Ultimately, we’d love to see her in the Caulfield Cup, but that’s still to be determined,” Larkin said.
At the same time, stablemate Marble Nine is chasing a fourth straight Flemington win. He has proven highly effective down the straight, scoring in the Listed Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final on July 5. A strong jump-out on July 18 confirmed he was ready to continue racing instead of heading to the paddock.
“He’s fit, in form, and loves the straight. He puts himself in the race and runs out a strong 1200m,” Larkin said.
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