The build-up to the Melbourne Cup will continue apace over the next few weeks as trainers plot a route to ‘the race that stops the nation’.
The 3,200 metres contest at Flemington Racecourse attracts runners from across the world and is a spectacle which is etched into Australian sports folklore.
Motion Eyeing Melbourne Cup Bid
Graham Motion is among the trainers who have been formulating Melbourne Cup plans, with Belmont Gold Cup winner The Grey Wizard on course to run in the race.
The American handler recently confirmed the five-year-old could head to Flemington if everything goes to plan with his upcoming warm-up runs.
The son of Caravaggio is set to reappear later at Delaware Park this month, before tackling the $500,000 Nashville Gold Cup at Kentucky Downs in September.
“It all depends on what happens in the fall if we go to Australia,” Motion said. “We’re looking at running him in the Cape Henlopen at Delaware as a prep for Kentucky.
“The hardest thing about racing in Australia is the handicap weight. They tend to carry a lot more weight down there than we do up here. You don’t want him to carry too much weight.
“The best part of these races is that he won’t be penalised too badly if he does run well since they aren’t Grade 1s. They couldn’t penalise him too badly for winning ungraded races.”
Circle Aiming to Fire at Flemington
Australian trainer Ciaron Maher has several possible Melbourne Cup contenders in his stable including Sydney Cup winner Circle Of Fire.
The four-year-old is the favourite on Melbourne Cup betting sites to become the first horse to do the Sydney Cup and Melbourne Cup double since Makybe Diva achieved the feat in 2004.
He recently returned to action in an 800m trial at Cranbourne Racecourse and is expected to participate in another over 1200m in mid-August.
Assistant trainer Jack Turnbull expressed satisfaction after overseeing the trial run and pinpointed the Heatherlie Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse as a possible start point on August 31.
“He had a few niggly feet issues when he first came over (from Europe) and his general action has improved,” he said. “Having been in both Sydney and Victoria, the horse has adjusted well to the different environments.
“It’s hard to say if he’s improved – I think physically, he’s better off. A little bit longer in our system, he’s been up in Sydney, back down to Victoria, where he’s been before. He is better off and naturally he should improve again.”
James Delighted with Mark Twain’s Gallop
New Zealand is also on track to have a strong contender in the Melbourne Cup, with Mark Twain expected to take his chance after winning the Listed Lexus Roy Higgins Stakes at Flemington.
The horse blew away the cobwebs with an exhibition gallop between races at Tauranga Racecourse at the end of last month and is scheduled to have another trial over the next couple of weeks.
Mark Twain is due to have his first run of the season in Melbourne on August 24 before stepping up in distance on his next outing.
Co-trainer Roger James, who trains in partnership with Robert Wellwood, was delighted with the horse’s recent gallop and says he should be ready to roll later this month.
“With the weather conditions, we’ve been very careful with him at home, and I wanted what we did to bring him forward, not knock him,” James said. “They are often pretty vulnerable when they’re three-quarters ready, so we have to be pretty careful.
“Masa Hashizume rode him and he couldn’t have ridden him better for what we were wanting. He went 1,200m going 15 seconds through the first three furlongs, then worked home in 38.4. He was still picking up and working through the line – he went right around past the gates at the 1,400m.
“He trotted him all the way back around, and by the time he got back to me, he was only just having a healthy blow and nothing that would indicate he had been over-extended. That should bring him on greatly.”
