Lees pleased to see nemesis take flight for his Bob Charley contenders

No one was happier than Kris Lees to see defending champion In Flight scratched this week from the listed Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m) at Randwick.

The Newcastle trainer will saddle up at least two runners in the feature race on Saturday and both have been denied by the Joe Pride-trained mare, which will instead contest the group 2 Moreton Cup at Eagle Farm.

Brudenell ($10) is back after hitting the front at the 150m mark in the Bob Charley, formerly the June Stakes, last year only for In Flight to catch him in the shadows of the post.

Infancy ($16) will also run for Lees. She came from last two starts ago to beat all but In Flight and fall short of winning back-to-back Sapphire Stakes.

“It beat us last year in this and narrowly beat Infancy two starts ago, so I was happy for it not to be there,” Lees said.

“I think Brudenell is probably our best chance, but I wouldn’t put it past Infancy. There’s not much between them.”

First emergency Memoria is also into the field for Lees, but she may be saved for Monday’s Canterbury Park meeting.

Six-year-old Russian Revolution gelding Brudenell, an $80,000 yearling buy for Lees, has racked up more than $1.1 million in earnings with 10 wins and nine placings across 36 starts.

He has threatened to produce even better figures, placing seven times in stakes company, including a fast-finishing second to Bev’s Nine last start in the listed Ortensia at Scone.

Top country jockey Aaron Bullock has the ride from gate one on Brudenell, which is a son of former Lees-trained mare Knit’n’Purl.

“He’s very consistent and he’s had some close seconds, too,” Lees said.

“He got beat on the line last year in this race, he got beat a nose last year in the Takeover Target and he just got beat this year in the Ortensia. All very narrow defeats, but he’s won a couple of times by close margins as well.

“Aaron knows him well, he’s won on him and rode him plenty of times, and the gate gives him the chance at a nice economically run.”

Lees and his mother, Vicki, are in the ownership of the Brudenell, which carries the stable colours, as does Memoria.

The trainer also has a stake in five-year-old Infancy, which was passed in with a $775,000 reserve at last month’s Inglis Chairman’s Sale and “will probably be traded at the beginning of the broodmare season”.

Infancy was powering home when squeezed out between runners late last start when eighth in the Luskin Star Stakes at Scone. She has gate 10 with Dylan Gibbons to ride.

“She got tightened for room late, she wasn’t going to win, but she would have got a better cheque,” Lees sa