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Lees pins hopes on Mugatoo in Group 1
Kris Lees will rely on Mugatoo (Henrythenavigator) in his quest for a first Doncaster Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) win after stablemate Gem Song (Your Song) pulled up sore following trackwork on Thursday.
Mugatoo comes into the $3 million race after prevailing in an epic battle against Russian Camelot (Camelot) to win the All-Star Mile (1600m) in Melbourne last month.
While the import is better known over middle-distances, he has responded well to a varied training routine and Lees is confident he remains sharp enough for what is widely regarded as a testing mile at Randwick.
"I've spaced his gallops and runs and kept him that little bit sharper for it," Lees said.
"With the four-week gap between runs and just a few other little things, it looks like this program works nicely for him.
"It's a Doncaster and luck will play its part but I'm pretty happy with where he's at."
Depending on how Mugatoo performs on Saturday, Lees has not ruled out backing him up against Addeybb (Pivotal), Verry Elleegant (Zed) and Sir Dragonet (Camelot) in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Randwick on April 17.
He said Gem Song's setback was not serious and hoped the horse might recover in time to participate in the Brisbane winter carnival.
