Newcastle trainer Kris Lees is targeting the $700,000 Kingsford-Smith Cup at Eagle Farm with Clearly Innocent after his dominant Luskin Star Stakes defence at Scone on Saturday.
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Clearly Innocent returned to Scone, where he was trained by Greg Bennett, with a three-length win in the listed 1300m race to make it six from six on the track.
The five-year-old gelding, the 2016 Country Championships winner, joined the Lees stable in February after Bennett announced his retirement.
He debuted for Lees with ninth in the Hawkesbury Rush (1100m) two weeks ago but burst to the front on Saturday with 150m to go to easily win a second listed Luskin Star Stakes.
"He came to me in great shape and this race was just like coming home," Lees told Fairfax Media.
“It was a very good win and we will look at the Kingsford Smith Cup with him in two weeks because it fits in well with a Stradbroke preparation.
“He is probably not ready for weight-for-age just yet but the 1300m suits.”
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained France won the feature $400,000 Scone Guineas.
Newcastle trainer Ben Smith’s In Her Time was an impressive fifth in the $700,000 Doomben 10,000 after being forced to sit deep from a wide barrier throughout.
