Melbourne Cup winner Half Yours might not be just another horse at the Sunshine Coast as he was last year, but he is enjoying being back there, almost as much as his trainer Tony McEvoy.
The McEvoy team for Tony and son Calvin has taken up residence at the Sunshine Coast, and Half Yours is in the same box as 12 months ago.
“It is like coming back to his holiday home,” Tony McEvoy said. “He loves it but not as much as I am with the sun out and warm weather.
“He has been working well and he’s building into the preparation as we thought he would.”
Half Yours did what was expected on his return in the All Aged Stakes, being the best through the line, four lengths from the winner, and the step up to 1800m in the Hollindale Stakes on Saturday should see him in the finish on one proviso.
“I just hope he gets around that joint on the Gold Coast,” McEvoy said. “It is one of those tracks that is a bit tricky and you either like it, or you don’t.
“I think he should be right, and the way he is working, he is getting closer to his peak.
“I think having [Pride Of Jenni] will actually help him because it means they get along, and it should space them out. He will enjoy that because it will turn into a test.”
When Half Yours left the Sunshine Coast last winter, he was the winner of five at a 50 per cent strike rate, including the Caloundra Cup, the only time he had got to 2400m, but he returns a Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup winner, still with a 50 per cent strike rate.
But the market has taken a set against him with Birdman and Pride Of Jenni taking over as joint favourites at $3.6 as Half Yours gets out to $3.90.
McEvoy is convinced the best is yet to come for his Caulfield and Melbourne Cup.
“He has only just become the finished product, and I think the next couple of seasons are where we will see how good he is,” McEvoy said. “He is going to appreciate getting out further in the trip, but he is going very well.”
