Tavi Time ready to roll in the Summer Cup 2025
Kris Lees is hoping Tavi Time can turn around a luckless preparation when he bids for back-to-back victories in the Group Three Summer Cup at Randwick.
The gelding has been plagued by poor barriers and unsuitable conditions, including a heavy track in The Gong (1600m) and a wide alley in The Ingham (1600m), where he charged home late.
“Things just haven’t been going right for him,” Lees said.
“He was a bit luckless in the Big Dance. The rain came before The Gong, and he stepped slow in The Ingham. He is running off good sectionals but to no avail.”
Eleven horses have accepted for the Boxing Day feature, including Estadio Mestalla and Major Beel.
Tavi Time jumped from benchmark grade to claim the Summer Cup last year and has since secured the Scone Cup and a runner-up finish in the Lord Mayor’s Cup. His improved résumé sees him carry three extra kilos this year.
Lees believes the return to 2000 metres will be key. “He goes back to 2000 metres, which he hasn’t been to since last year’s win,” he said.
The only horse to take out consecutive Summer Cups in the past two decades is I’m Imposing.
Stablemate Kind Words, a last-start winner, has been kept for alternative assignments, including the TAB Handicap or the Group 3 Belle Of The Turf Stakes at Gosford.
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