Import Off To The Gold Coast

British import Maximal will head straight to the Hollindale Stakes without another run.

The John O’Shea-trained gelding was beaten convincingly in the Group 1 Australian Cup in March but has looked good in two trials back in Sydney, winning one and placing in the other.

Maximal is yet to place in three Aussie starts but with a Timeform rating of 114 he should measure up to the Group 2 standard of the Hollindale if he is somewhere near his best.

The 1800m contest on the Gold Coast on May 7 is considered the main lead-up race to the Group 1 Doomben Cup. But the problem for Maximal is there he will face off with one of Australia’s best horses in Zaaki, who won the All Star Mile earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the Maher Eustace camp will hold off on the return of talented galloper Heart Of Puissance.

The flashy chestnut was set to resume off a long break this Saturday at Sandown. The son of Puissance De Lune will instead go looking for tracks with some give in them with his preferred surface being wet.