Bling bound for Auckland

By Adam Hamilton

LUKE McCarthy is so pleased with Bling It On’s comeback progress he’s declared the Auckland Inter Dominion a major target.

The former superstar juvenile and 2018 Hunter Cup winner will return from injury and retirement in the free-for-all at Menangle on Saturday night.

“Providing that goes well, he’ll go down to Melton two weeks later for the Victoria Cup,” McCarthy said.

“He’s very fit. He’s been in work for six months. That might have been his first public trial last week, but he’d had three private ones at home.”

McCarthy said after the Victoria Cup, his sights would turn to Auckland.

“Yeah, we wanna have a crack at the Inter Dominion. As long as everything goes well between now and then,” he said.

“He likes the regular racing and his best form would certainly make him very competitive with the best over there. It would be great to be part of it.”

McCarthy said the signs were hugely encouraging.

“You know how much we think of him, We wouldn’t be bringing him back unless we thought he could be a force at the very top again,” he said.

“Don’t forget how strong that crop of he raced against and sometimes beat was. He regularly took on Lennytheshark, Lazarus, Smolda and others.”

Bling It On succumbed to some niggling issues when retired to stud after a ninth at Menangle on June 9, last year.

“It wasn’t anything big at all. He had a mishap and re-opened the scars from that bad fall he had in injury. It caused him a lot of discomfort,” McCarthy said.

“He had 10 months out and we started jogging him up again. It’s all progressed since then. He’s ready to go this week.”