No rush to make Cup call on Gold Trip after ‘train wreck’ Cox Plate
A decision on whether Gold Trip runs in the Melbourne Cup is likely to be saved until final acceptances on Derby Day after the galloper had a luckless run in Saturday’s Cox Plate.
The lightly raced six-year-old was fancied as one of the main dangers to Anamoe after his slashing second in the Caulfield Cup, but he was forced to settle in the back half of the field after being tardy away from the gates, and he found it impossible to weave past horses late in Saturday’s race.
Connections are going to let the dust settle before deciding whether Gold Trip heads to the Melbourne Cup.Credit:Getty Images
Australian Bloodstock director Jamie Lovett described the run as a “train wreck”, but suggested the horse could still run in the Melbourne Cup if he recovered well.
“He had a bit of a luckless run,” Lovett said.
“I’d say he would have come through it all right, he didn’t have a tough run. I’d just say it’s whether they [trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace] want to go to two miles or not.
“I’d say they’ll let the dust settle this week.
“They just ran that slow out in front, the horse was out of play, we didn’t have a lot of luck. It was a train wreck, really.
“We’ll just see how he is this week and make a decision on Saturday.”
Lovett said a soft track at Flemington would certainly encourage the team to press onto the Cup, as the horse has a liking for wet ground.
Meanwhile, Australian Bloodstock’s import Rodrigo Diaz won’t head to the Cup after picking up an injury in last Wednesday’s Geelong Cup.
“He’s had a little setback, so we’ll go to the paddock with him,” Lovett said.
“He just had a little bit of heat in the fetlock after the Geelong Cup, so we’ll see what the diagnosis is with that.”
Young Werther will continue towards the Cup, however, after his 10th-place finish in the Cox Plate.
“We always knew he was going to need a real high-pressure race to run into the finish,” trainer Danny O’Brien said.
“He just got outsprinted late in the race, but from a Melbourne Cup perspective we were happy he did enough in that sort of race shape, and we expect him to run well in the Cup.
“That was what we were looking for, that nice, strong Cox Plate run to get him ready for the two miles. He’s not a horse that needs a lot of training, he’s a light, little gelding, and we’ll have no issues with his fitness heading to the Melbourne Cup.”
Young Werther is on song for this year’s Cup after being ruled out of the race last year due to injury.Credit:Joe Armao
O’Brien said both Young Werther and Vow And Declare had passed the mandatory Racing Victoria scans to proceed towards the Cup. This time last year, the CT scan found an anomaly in Young Werther’s bone structure that forced him to have surgery.
O’Brien said Vow And Declare, the 2019 Cup winner, was on song for this year’s race.
“He’s had a good strong preparation for it and his last two runs have been excellent in the Bart Cummings and the Caulfield Cup, and the two miles holds no fears for him,” O’Brien said, adding that Midnight Blue, Wyclif and Inspirational Girl would not accept again for the Cup.
Blake Shinn will ride Vow And Declare in the Cup, while Damian Lane has been booked for Young Werther.
And Grahame Begg said he was rapt with Lunar Flare’s runner-up finish in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup as she heads towards the first Tuesday in November.
“Well I’d like to think [it was the perfect Cup trial],” Begg said.
“It was the way we would have liked it. We had to take our medicine from the gate and go back. She’s a funny horse, you can’t really fire her up, you’ve got to get her to relax as much as possible, conserve herself to give her the best opportunity to finish off.
“She got behind a few slow ones during the race and the leading pack got away down the side … put a bit of a margin on. She had to pick her way through the field and the race was sort of over by the turn. But she was very good, and she kept finding the line, which is what you want to see.”
Michael Dee, who won the Caulfield Cup on Durston, is committed to ride Lunar Flare in the Melbourne Cup.
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