Triumph of Hard Kick lifts Hayes after Miss Finland's loss

Following the demise of one of Lindsay Park's most celebrated juveniles the previous day, the Hayes family found a promising youngster who might emerge as the stable's forthcoming headline act.

Hard Kick, the gelding by All Too Hard, began his track career impressively, crushing opponents in the $175,000 Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m) that started the Black Caviar Lightning meeting on Saturday at Flemington.

This win occurred just over 24 hours post the death of star filly Miss Finland at age 22, with J D Hayes admitting Hard Kick still needs to prove himself against the feats of the 2006 Golden Slipper champion, yet he was overjoyed that the colt met the barn's firm belief in him.

“What a thrill, he's been very well-educated at home and we thought he was pretty good and he won with authority there,” Hayes, who trains in partnership with brothers Ben and Will, said.

“We're not sure he's as good as Miss Finland, but he looked pretty good there.”

Miss Finland notched five Group 1 wins including the Slipper, plus the Australian Guineas, Thousand Guineas, VRC Oaks and Storm Queen Stakes, all handled by David Hayes.

Priced at $3, the $30,000 Adelaide Magic Millions yearling purchase resold for $140,000 at the previous Inglis Ready2Race Sale, Hard Kick bolted to the lead with sharp pace and powered away to prevail by 2-3/4 lengths against Zambales in 1:03.90.

Third place went to Diameter ($13), a further 1-3/4 lengths behind.

Jockey Damian Lane, having schooled the colt previously, offered glowing feedback and suggested he could revise his high regard upwards.

“I thought before today that he was a good horse, but just off the better ones, but off the back of that, he might be right up there,” Lane said.

Now, Hard Kick might pursue the near-miss goal of Miss Finland by aiming for the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes next Saturday, according to JD Hayes, who didn't dismiss it.

The $2 million race requires a $55,000 late nomination fee as he skipped early entries.

“We'll keep the option open next week as he did win with head on his chest there, but there's plenty of options going ahead with this horse. It's very exciting,” Hayes said.

Explore Australian betting sites for opportunities around the Talindert Stakes.

The post Hayes family's Hard week ends on a high first appeared on Just Horse Racing.