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By Ray Hickson

Plans for promising galloper Convergent to earn a Group 1 assignment later in the spring will go up a notch if he can find himself in the winner’s circle at Kensington on Wednesday.

Trainer Greg Lee

Trainers Jim and Greg Lee rate the five-year-old as potentially a top class stayer in the making and with spring about to dawn the Chandon Handicap (1800m) is an important race for him.

Convergent has only had four starts and to get to where the Lee brothers are dreaming, the Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap in early October, the steps will need to be large but Greg Lee is adamant the talent is there.

“He needs to knock off a few now. The 1800m is what he’s crying out for,” Lee said.

“He just knows how to the hit the line, that’s one thing he does know what to do.

“There’s a couple of races for him but we will run him in the Kingston Town and that will tell us what direction we are going.”

The Group 3 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) is run on September 20 and Lee is wary Convergent, $4 with TAB on Tuesday, is in a race against time to notch a win or two and improve his rating.

He’s a $51 chance with TAB in the Metropolitan.

He’s had two runs at Midway level this month and showed he’s on track to break through with an eye-catching third behind Monkhana over the 1500m at Rosehill on August 16, where he produced the race’s fastest last 600m of 35.66 (Punter’s Intelligence).

Lee said it’s a bonus the gelding can handle heavy ground and that his debut win was on the Kensington track.

“I bought this horse because of his times on a dry track not on a wet track, and I’m lucky he can handle a wet track so that’s a blessing,’’ he said.

“The start before even though he wasn’t really comfortable in the going he was knocked down by a horse and still got up and kept going to the line.

“I reckon another 50m he wins the other day. I’m very confident in the way he’s pulled up and how he’s going ahead.”

It’ll be Convergent’s first start beyond 1500m and Lee said that could bring about a change in racing style and wouldn’t be against jockey Adam Hyeronimus taking him to the front.

“He’ll be in the top four over 1800m, he’s got enough speed to put himself in that position,’’ he said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to see him lead all the way either.”

Stablemate Maccbi has some appealing form around him from his second-up run so Lee is sweating on a run in the Asahi Super Dry Handicap (1250m).

The gelding led at Hawkesbury two weeks ago and bumped into Hurry Miss, who went to Newcastle on the weekend and won again, in a run Lee said was encouraging.

Convergent runs third at Rosehill on August 16

“I’ve always had a bit of a rap on him but you couldn’t believe Snowden running that horse in the maiden,’’ he said.

“If he gets a run he’s going to be handy and going to be hard to beat.”

All the fields, form and replays for Wednesday’s Kensington meeting