Young Kiwi horseman Kyle Marshall is living a dream start to his Australian career — and it could get even better at Melton tonight.
The 29-year-old relocated from New Zealand just three months ago to set up at the Cranbourne Training Centre, and has since struck at an impressive 60% winning rate as both trainer and driver.
His stable star Son Of Mac — runner-up to top Kiwi Merlin in the Group 1 Northern Derby — has been a standout since arriving in Australia, winning all three starts. Drawn gate two in race seven tonight, the exciting three-year-old will start a commanding favourite to extend that streak.
“Son Of Mac was really well graded under the system here, so we’ve been able to pick suitable races for him,” Marshall said. “He deserves these easier runs after tackling strong fields in New Zealand.”
The challenges will soon step up again, with Group 1 targets including the $200,000 Victoria Derby at Melton on October 14, followed by the $300,000 Breeders Crown Final on November 25.
“We stuck to the plan of giving him a good build-up here,” Marshall said. “He’ll race again in a few weeks, then have a short break before the Derby.”
Marshall admits he was impressed by The Lost Storm’s dominant Queensland Derby win last weekend.
“He was very impressive,” he said. “But we think highly of our horse — he’s competed well against the best in New Zealand. It’ll be exciting to see how we measure up.”
Marshall also has unbeaten two-year-old Smoken Ace chasing his fourth win from gate five in race four at Ballarat on Saturday night, taking on tough rivals Kingman and Chart Topper.
Marshall and partner Sophie Jefferies have quickly made their mark since arriving in Victoria.
“We started with six horses and we’re up to fifteen now,” he said. “The facilities and the people at Cranbourne have been fantastic — it’s been a dream start.”
- thetrots News Desk