When conditions for the Country Mile Series were announced, Warrnambool trainer Aaron Purcell looked through his stable to see what he could target at those races.
Following heats on various country tracks, the $250,000 Country Mile Series Final (1600m) will be run at Flemington on Saturday with Purcell having two definite runners and a third waiting in the wings.
Kazio and Mark Of The Man are in the field while Prospectus requires a scratching to gain a start.
“When they announced the conditions and when the heats were, we looked at the stable and thought which horses would suit,” Purcell said.
“The three that are in the final, we targeted at the heats.
“They’re all fit and well and hopefully they’ve got something to offer.”
After a successful career with Colin Little, Kazio joined Purcell’s team in September 2020 and it took until three runs back for him to score his first win for the Warrnambool stable, at his 24th start.
“He’d been a good horse and once they get their ratings up, they start finding life hard and they start going through the motions a bit, which he was doing,” Purcell said.
“He was still running well but not giving everything he had, so we tried a few different things, and he seems to be rejuvenated.
“He’s going the best he has for a while.”
Mark Of The Man was a two-time winner in the UK when purchased by Purcell with high expectations.
In 10 starts for Purcell, he is yet to win, but he was placed at Flemington almost 10 months ago.
“He came here with an awkward rating,” Purcell said.
“This is one of the few times he’s been in a race with a good weight, so handicap wise he’s probably the best of them.”
Prospectus has only had four starts for Purcell having been with Chris Waller previously.
“He’s coming along nicely and if he gets into the race, he’ll run well,” Purcell said.