Kiwi stayer Megablast will join the stable of leading Victorian trainer Darren Weir ahead of a 2018 Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign.
Megablast will be trained by Darren Weir, above, for the Spring Carnival. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Megablast has just completed an interrupted Queensland Winter Racing Carnival campaign with a third placing behind the Team Snowden trained Plot Twist in the Group 3 $150,000 The Queen’s Cup (3200m) at the Sunshine Coast last Saturday.
Pukekohe trainer Nigel Tiley said that Megablast has done a great job coming across the the Tasman this time and deserves a chance to race for better prizemoney in Australia than back in his native New Zealand.
“That was his last run for me and he’ll go for a spell now before he goes to Darren Weir in Melbourne,” Tiley said.
“It’s sad to lose him but you’ve got to do what’s best for the horse and he deserves to be racing for better prizemoney here than back home.”
Megablast’s Winter Carnival campaign was put on hold because of a minor leg injury and the grey was forced to miss the Group 2 $300,000 Pages Hire Brisbane Cup (2200m) on June 9 and the Group 3 $200,000 Lazy Yak Tattersall’s Cup (2200m), both at Doomben.
The six year old grey finished third behind Egg Tart and Tradesman in the Group 2 $200,000 Bradford Access Insulation P.J. O’Shea Stakes (2200m) at the Sunshine Coast on June 2 and then had four weeks in between runs before winning the Listed $175,000 Scott McMahon Electrical Caloundra Cup (2400m) at the Sunshine Coast on June 30.
“He knocked a sesamoid, which is why I had to scratch him out of the Brisbane Cup,” Tiley said.
Megablast was sent out as the $2.70 favourite for the The Queen’s Cup but jockey Damien Browne reported to Tiley that the six year old didn’t settle in the run as he should have and that probably told at the finish, especially under the top weight of 60kg.
“He did a great job over here but unfortunately he pulled a bit hard and wanted to over-race,” Tiley said.
“Damian (Browne) said he didn’t settle like he normally does.”
Megablast is the winner of ten of his thirty-two race starts and has collected just under $400,000 in prizemoney.
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