In another schedule, the former Inter Dominion winner will battle Leap To Fame in the $250,000 Group 1 Blacks A Fake on December 6.
The pair could even clash during Saturday week’s $75,000 Group 2 Sunshine Sprint at Albion Park.
McCarthy and owner Tony Licastro changed their targets after Don Hugo ran a huge race only to be beaten into second place by Captains Knock in the opening match of the NSW Carnival of Cups in Wagga last Friday evening.
“We talked and Brisbane just makes sense now,” McCarthy said. “If we stay at home we’ll run a $20,000 free-for-all (at Menangle) and have to play poorly in a $60,000 race at Newcastle.
“But when we go to Brisbane we have a $75,000 race and a $250,000 race, and both are random draws.”
Don Hugo should be ready after two runs back.
“I couldn’t ask anything more from him at Wagga. The draw didn’t help and we finished well short of the winner, but he smashed the clock and just kept coming. I was really happy with the run,” said McCarthy.
“He’s a horse that loves to race, so it should get him back on his feet.”
Before then, McCarthy’s focus is back on NZ with Kingman, who he trained and rode to win last week’s iconic $NZ1 million NZ Cup.
Even die-hard locals describe it as one of the greatest achievements in the Cup’s more than 120-year history.
Kingman is $1.45 favorite to add Friday night’s $NZ125,000 Group 1 Christian Cullen to his CV.
“It made sense to stay once we got all that way and he comes back at his own age (four-year-olds) for this race,” McCarthy said.
“He came through the cup well and we decided to skip the free-for-all last Friday and wait for this race.
“I gave him a quick workout this morning (Wednesday) and he felt great.”
McCarthy is not impressed with a drawing outside the front row (nine) over 2600 meters.
“He picks up another cell phone, which fits better than a stand, and from there I can just keep my balance and continue working,” he said.
Kingman has booked a flight from Christchurch back to Sydney next Wednesday.
“He’s not going to Brisbane. I’ll freshen him up a bit and then we’ll focus on the Cups in Victoria with him, starting with the first of those in Bendigo (January 10),” McCarthy said.
McCarthy will be back in Victoria much sooner.
“I’m on a flight (from Christchurch) to Melbourne at 6am on Saturday morning to do a few in the Vicbred final for Mick Stanley at Melton that evening,” he said.
Among them is Queensland Oaks winner Soho Americano, who is favorite to win the Vicbred $100,000 final for three-year-old fillies from gate three.
Through Adam Hamilton for Harness Racing Australia
#Hugo #Brisbane