Lindsay Park training team eyeing The Everest for Arkansaw Kid

Lindsay Park trainers Ben, Will and J.D. Hayes talked up Arkansaw Kid as potentially the next big thing to come out of their stable. Speaking ahead of Arkansaw Kid’s upcoming run in the Listed Chautauqua Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley this Saturday, Ben Hayes says the gelding is as good a sprinter as he has ever seen at Lindsay Park.  
 
Hayes also says that Arkansaw Kid could be in the running for a place in The Everest this October.  

Arkansaw Kid is “electric” 

Rising five-year-old Arkansaw Kid is a name horse racing betting fans should be keeping an eye on, according to his trainer Ben Hayes. The Lindsay Park man says the gelding is in good form after the stable decided to geld him during the 2023/24 season.  
 
“It was a big call to geld him, but we really felt he wasn’t being 100% genuine when he was going to the races and being a bit of a thinker. 
 
“At home he’s an electric worker and if he starts converting that to the sprint trips, he’s a genuine horse that Everest slot holders should be looking at,” Hayes said.  

“As good as Vega Magic” 

While Ben Hayes is bullish on Arkansaw Kid’s The Everest chances, most betting sites do not even list him as a potential runner.  
 
If Hayes is right though, that could change soon. The Lindsay Park trainer says Arkansaw Kid is one of the best sprinters he has ever seen.  
 
“We’ve had a few good sprinters in my time, and he’s as good as them.” Hayes explained. 
 
“He’s very sharp, he comes up the hill like Vega Magic and those types of horses (did). He’s been our best horse for The Everest since Vega.” 
 
Vega Magic won multiple Group 1 races for Lindsay Park before being retired, so this massively-high praise from Hayes for Arkansaw Kid. Whether the gelding lives up to the hype is still up in the air.  

Arkansaw Kid next races 

We’ll get to see if Arkansaw Kid  is the real deal this weekend at Moonee Valley.  
 
The gelding is set to run in the Listed Chautauqua Stakes on Saturday. If this race goes well, Hayes says Arkansaw Kid could try his luck at the Group 1 level again for the first time since June.  
 
“If he (Arkansaw Kid) was to win at The Valley, we could consider the (Group 1) Manikato Stakes, which is in three weeks’ time,” Hayes explained.  
 
“It’s (the Chautauqua Stakes is) a great lead up, and there is also the option, if the Manikato was looking ridiculously strong, (that) we could wait and run him down the straight in the Bobbie Lewis Stakes at Flemington. 
 
“It’s all about placement and he gets in a lot better in the weights on Saturday. He had 58 (kg) last week and he’s got 55 this week, so it was pretty much a no-brainer for us.”