Racing: Kelt on the horizon for refreshed Cedar Manor

Stephen Autridge still has two minor-league races left on Cedar Manor's comeback plan.

But the way the rejuvenated five-year-old won at Te Rapa on Saturday, his Tuhikaramea co-trainer knows it can't hurt to dream about the Kelt Capital Stakes on October 7.

For the first time in months, Autridge has the winner of $275,000 in stakes thriving on racing again.

"He's a much happier horse ... you could just tell that he loved it out there," said Autridge yesterday.

"He's only five and hasn't done a lot of racing, so who knows, we could be on our way again."

Throughout his three-year-old career, and most of last season, you name a major distance race, and chances are Cedar Manor was there, or at the very least, hovering around the lead-ups.

At three the Ryder Stakes winner contested three Derbies, with little in the way of luck.

Autridge said feet problems also conspired against the gelding, who has regularly proved he's up to listed company, on both sides of the Tasman.

"Whether we've got him back to his best form, I'm not sure, but he certainly had them covered yesterday [Saturday] and he can only improve," said Autridge.

The critical Kelt tests will come during Hastings' two open 2000m events on the first two days of the carnival, on September 2 and September 23.

If Cedar Manor repeats what he did to Rhythm Method and Art Link on Saturday in the Pencarrow Stud 2000, then Autridge said the $1 million race would be a definite option.

After winning an open 1600m on the carnival's first day last year, Cedar Manor ran 11th in Xcellent's Kelt, but was trapped wide for most of the trip.

While a rival for Cedar Manor at Hastings on September 23, Matamata trainer Ken Kelso is already ruling out a Kelt run for his Wellington Cup winner Envoy.

Envoy ran fourth in the Kelt last year on his way to a gutsy close-up eighth in the Melbourne Cup, again his main spring target.

"He had a hard run last year and was off the bridle the whole way," said Kelso, who gives Envoy another Melbourne tune-up at the Taupo trials tomorrow.

"Maybe he's not quite as sharp over 2000m so we'll look for the softer options this time in."

If the weather stays on Kelso's side, Envoy will run instead on the Kelt programme against the open handicappers before crossing the Tasman for the Geelong Cup.

"He's well and bright, maybe a bit more forward than he was this time last year," said Kelso.

"You wouldn't think he was eight the way he acts."

Kelso is also excited about the staying future of impressive Te Rapa winner Stone Garden, who looked to be going places in a hurry the way he dealt to opponents on Saturday.

The five-year-old Generous gelding is likely to make his middle-distance debut next month.

"He's still a bit frail but he's a lovely actioned horse who should make up into a nice stayer," said Kelso.

"I was actually tossing up whether he should run over 2000m on Saturday but he'll step out over ground next time."

Kelso was confident he would win on Saturday after he backed up a luckless last start fifth with impressive semi-final fast-work last Tuesday.

"Opie [Bosson] got off him on Tuesday and said he'll win," said Kelso. But we were also lucky to get three runs into him at Te Rapa on reasonably good ground. With an action like he's got, he's going to be even better on firmer tracks."