Graeme Nicholson has no qualms about Sir Slick taking on superstar galloper Weekend Hussler in his first start in Australia.

Rather than feeling any trepidation about the thought, the Te Aroha trainer is excited about the chance of testing “people’s champion” Sir Slick against the Australian horse of the year elect in next month’s Gr II $A200,000 Liston Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

The August 16 weight-for-age feature is set to attract a cracking field including Tesbury Jack, Light Fantastic, former Irish galloper Alexander of Hales and former star Matamata three-year-old Alamosa, who twice defeated Sir Slick in New Zealand last season and is earmarked to have his first start in the race for new trainer Mick Price.

Told yesterday that the race was on Weekend Hussler’s programme, Nicholson said: “Good. He can take on the best there is.

“He’s flying at the moment. He had his first gallop last week and he ran his 600 (metres) in 34 (seconds).”

Five-time Gr I winner Sir Slick left New Zealand in April after finishing 12th of 18 in the Gr I Easter Handicap at Ellerslie.

He finished last in the Queen Elizabeth II in Hong Kong later that month before heading to Singapore, where he was a creditable fifth in the Singapore International Airlines Cup.

Rather than send him home, Nicholson decided to fly Sir Slick to Australia for a spring campaign aimed at October’s $A3 million Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley.

After spending three weeks in quarantine in Sydney, Sir Slick was floated to Mornington, in Victoria, where he is stabled with former New Zealand trainer Bridget Flynn, not far from John Wheeler’s stables there.

Nicholson’s New Zealand training partner, Paul Allbon, has spent the past month in Mornington and Nicholson is booked to fly to Melbourne on August 20, four days after Sir Slick’s Australian debut.

“Paul reckons he looks a million dollars,” Nicholson said.

“He’ll put up a bloody good show.

“It will be totally different to coming back to New Zealand and doing the spring carnival here because the tracks are better over there.

“He’s been training on tracks rated three and four and he wouldn’t be getting tracks that good at home.”

Nicholson has booked Australian rider Zac Purton for Sir Slick’s spring campaign, which will see him follow the Liston Stakes with races in the Gr II $A200,000 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield and the Gr II $A300,000 Feehan Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley.

Nicholson will assess Sir Slick’s condition from there as to what races he needs ahead of the Cox Plate on October 25.
(Source: Waikato Times)