WHEN Melbourne Cup winning trainer Mark Kavanagh takes time out from the hustle and bustle, he usually heads to his farm in Toolern Vale to relax with his horses.
‘‘I like to go there and hang out and look at my horses,’’ he says. ‘‘So I’m actually just a racing person.’’
His budding champion Atlantic Jewel has spent much time at the property recovering from recurring injuries but is now back in work at his Flemington stables and gearing up for an assault on the spring carnival.
‘‘We don’t get horses out of the paddock and take them to the races the next week,’’ Kavanagh says.
‘‘It’s a long, gradual process over time.’’
Kavanagh hopes the racing public gets to see the best of Atlantic Jewel, who was considered a genuine contender to the immortal Black Caviar when up and running.
‘‘I hope we get to see the best of her,’’ he says, more hopeful than confident. ‘‘I won’t send her back to the races unless I can get her right.’’
FEATURE STORY: Mark Kavanagh’s racing stripes
