Autumn springboard for McEvoy pair

Tony McEvoy is looking at the autumn campaigns of two of his three-year-olds to see where their long term futures may lie.

Hey Doc and Silvera meet in the C S Hayes Stakes at Flemington on Saturday after which the pair head on different paths.

McEvoy is looking forward to the 1400m of Saturday’s race following the Hey Doc’s first-up third at Caulfield while Silvera begins a campaign that aimed at the ATC Australian Derby or the South Australian equivalent.

Hey Doc is on a Guineas path, either the Australian Guineas at Flemington or the Randwick version with both run on March 4.

McEvoy wants to find out this campaign whether Hey Doc will stretch out to 2000m or is better kept to shorter races.

Hey Doc won the Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley last spring before running third to Divine Prophet in the Caulfield Guineas. He followed up with a fourth placing in the Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington.

“His mile form is very good but he was not at his strongest at the line a couple of times,” McEvoy said.

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“He drew bad barriers and didn’t have a lot of luck but I’m not sure whether he’s a seven furlong (1400m) horse or a mile-and-a-quarter horse.

“He’s come on beautifully since his first-up run and I’m really looking forward to seeing him at Flemington on Saturday.”

On the other hand McEvoy was struggling to find a suitable starting point for Silvera who hasn’t raced since finishing 10th in the Victoria Derby.

McEvoy said the gelding failed to stay in the spring and is hoping he has strengthened this campaign.

“I was looking for an easier race to kick him off but I couldn’t find anything really suitable,” McEvoy said.

“Saturday’s probably not the race to make a decision on him. It’s more about getting him racing.

“He’ll need a couple of runs and get out to 1800 (metres) or 2000 and that’s when we can start to make decisions.”