Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Simon Crisford emailed me – Mastery and Claremont are almost certainly out, the rest will be culled to a short list within the next week.
Have had email contact with RVL – they say that the most likely international contingent for the Cups will be as follows:
Drunken Sailor
(Caulfield/Geelong Cup, Melbourne Cup)
Manighar
(Caulfield/Geelong Cup, Melbourne Cup)
Sans Frontieres
(Melbourne Cup)
Americain
(Melbourne Cup)
Profound Beauty
(Melbourne Cup)
Rite of Passage
(Melbourne Cup)
Tokai Trick
(Caulfield Cup, Melbourne Cup)
Mr Medici
(Caulfield Cup, Melbourne Cup)
Break a Theory and Meiner Kitz are out.
Illustrious Blue won’t be coming unless he is sold.
And just waiting to see who Godolphin will bring out, if they have representation.
Luca Cumani’s Melbourne Cup assault becoming clearer
* Alan Lee
* From: The Times
* August 26, 2010 2:55PMTWO heroic failures have merely reinforced Luca Cumani’s ambition to win the Melbourne Cup.
Bauer, absent through injury since being foiled by a nose two years ago, could be one of three contenders for the Newmarket trainer at Flemington on November 2.
Cumani’s love of international racing is stimulated by Australia’s greatest prize.
Bauer was his second successive runner-up, following Purple Moon in 2007, but the frustrations have done nothing to dampen his determination.
Three horses from the wise Italian’s stable will be listed when the weights are revealed next week but Cumani admits: "Bauer is still an imponderable but Manighar and Drunken Sailor are definitely going and will start their quarantine on September 8 before flying out a fortnight later.
"Bauer is part-owned by Simon O’Donnell, the former Australia all-rounder, adding to the intrigue in an Ashes winter. Before his bid is confirmed, though, he must prove his wellbeing on the racecourse, starting either at Goodwood or Windsor on Saturday."
It will be a last-minute decision depending on the ground," Cumani said yesterday.
"He doesn’t like it soft so we will go where conditions are best. After such a long time off, one run won’t be sufficient, so we will look for another race before deciding if he is to travel.
"He had a tendon injury, which always leaves a question mark. The seeds of it were sown in his Cup run two years ago and it has been a long road back. You can never be confident from one day to the next but he has coped with all the work so far."
Cumani admits to confused emotions after Bauer’s agonising defeat.
"Pride and frustration, a bit of both," he said. "I am always happy when they run well but to come so close for a second time was deflating, too."
He feels his hand is strong, this year, and Kieren Fallon, the stable jockey, is likely to face a challenging choice of mount. Fallon was second on the fast-finishing Manighar in a group race at Deauville last weekend and has another chance to weigh up Drunken Sailor in the Windflower March Stakes at Goodwood on Saturday.
"I’ve been surprised by Drunken Sailor’s progress," Cumani confessed.
"We bought him for a Dubai campaign but he has run very consistently back on the turf over here. I was delighted with Manighar on Sunday and, finally, we seem to be in tune with each other.
"They will both have time to acclimatise in Australia and will each run once before Flemington, one of them in the Caulfield Cup and the other in Geelong. If Bauer makes the trip, he will go straight for the Cup."
Cumani is enjoying a fruitful summer on home soil, the partnership with Fallon complemented by the development of J.P. Guillambert, whose double for the yard last Saturday featured the latest step in the rehabilitation of Seta after her flop in the 1,000 Guineas.
The Times
Akzar has been bought by Lloyd Williams! He really wants the 150th Cup. He’s been nominated for The Metropolitan in early October.
Can you clarify something for me Gerald…you said above something about Mastery not having an entry for the Irish St Leger.
According to what I can see on the Irish Racing website, he is one of 62 entries for the Irish St Leger.
Akmal, Dangerous Midge, Darley Sun, Eastern Aria, Holberg, Once More Dubai, Profound Beauty, Rite of Passage, Sans Frontieres and Tactic are the other entries.
Crime Scene is also entered! He’s now with Al Zarooni, so I’m surprised he isn’t mentioned on Godolphin’s website.
I’ll just copy this from TBV, I’m sure you won’t mind!
The quinella from last night’s Prix Kergorlay at Deauville, Americain (winner) and Manighar (runner up) all but booked their trip to Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup.
While Manighar has been Cumani’s prime hope for a while (he’s been disappointing though), it wasn’t known if Americain would make the trip.
Leigh Jordon said that he was unlikely to get a weight which would get him into the race. However, having won his last three, including today’s race, you’d say now he’d receive a weight which should see him get in.
He is trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, probably France’s leading trainer. That is no loss whatsoever, with Royer-Dupre having trained international winners like Daryakana (HK Vase), Linngari (placed in many international races and won in Italy, Dubai, Germany), Pride (HK Cup) and Lashkari (Breeders’ Cup Turf).
And he trained the great mare Zarkava.
According to the Racing Post, both will now enter quarantine to come to Melbourne.
That means that the confirmed Europeans to come so far are Drunken Sailor, Manighar and Americain. Sans Frontieres is quite likely, and Illustrious Blue probably will still come.
The Irish St Leger on September 11 may provide more answers.
Meiner Kitz is still likely, despite his 7th in the Sapporo Kinen (2000m) yesterday. In yesterday’s race, he was timed to run 2:00.4 for 2000m, amazingly quick time which would have easily won the Mackinnon the last few years.
Tokai Trick may be here too.
I’d say, however, that if you want to run in the Caulfield Cup, you’d pretty much want to know by now and have to be pretty close to entering quarantine.
The first planeload of internationals arrives next weekend, with Macau gallopers Luen Yat Forever and Good Control arriving – the former may run in the Cox Plate.
I hope he does come.
Have to say, I’d be shocked if anything came from out of the Ebor. Sopranist perhaps, but the rest just didn’t do anything.
Do you think King of Wands and Illustrious Blue will come down here? I thought that the pace was too slow for them to make up much ground, still thought Illustrious Blue was a little disappointing.
As an Aussie, of course I hope to see a Melbourne Cup entry win.
If Darley Sun can run a big race with his weight, I think he could be competitive in Melbourne.
Of course, I’d like to see a big run from Martyr.
And Dangerous Midge is in form.
I think this year however there will be more focus on the Lonsdale for us, with Illustrious Blue, King of Wands and to a lesser extent Akmal all in the running to come to Melbourne.
RACE:Melbourne next for Rebel Raider
By Caryl Williamson
SYDNEY, Aug 16 AAP – Rebel Raider’s breathtaking return to racing has prompted a change of plans in his Melbourne Cup build-up and his next run will be in the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington.
Adelaide trainer Leon Macdonald originally had the Penny Edition Stakes (1400m) at Morphettville on August 28 pencilled in for the dual Derby winner’s first start for the season.
The horse was doing so well he brought his race return forward to Saturday’s Spring Stakes and Rebel Raider put in a dashing performance to win the 1200m sprint.
"He’s pulled up a treat and will go to Melbourne for the Makybe Diva early next month," Macdonald said.
"That probably fits in better than the Penny Edition because it will then give him two weeks between races going towards the Cups and the Cox Plate.
"I don’t want to get carried away with what he did because he will be going up a class in Melbourne but I think he’s going better than ever and his action looks so much better."
The Group Two Makybe Diva (1600m) is at Flemington on September 4.
It will be Rebel Raider’s first trip to Flemington since his upset win in the 2008 Victoria Derby.
He failed in a subsequent Sydney campaign but back home racing in his preferred left handed direction, scored a devastating win in the South Australian Derby.
That propelled into early favouritism for last year’s Melbourne Cup but that dream was shattered in early September when he pulled up sore from trackwork.
He subsequently underwent successful surgery on a hind fetlock and had two starts in the autumn.
Last week, bookmakers reported heavy interest in Rebel Raider for the Melbourne Cup and he was as short as $18 on Monday.
With Rebel Raider to miss the Penny Edition, stablemate Majestic Music will represent the stable in the race before she too heads to Melbourne where she won two races last spring.
Just checked Thoroughbred Racing SA – it is definitely the 28th.
I think that he’ll go straight from the Penny Edition into the Underwood Stakes two weeks later, many horses go from the Memsie (also at 1400m) to the Underwood.
Not so sure about Alcopop.
Rebel Raider was a special win Gerald, something very very nice! If he gets to the Melbourne Cup, he’ll be hard to beat, no matter his lead up form.
Shoot Out, wow! Predatory Pricer was a game 2nd, I liked the runs of Vigor, Monaco Consul, Shocking and Mourayan (shame So You Think was scratched) but the eye catching run from the staying point of view was Zavite.
Ran 5th at 200-1, absolutely powered home late.
Now we have next week to look forward to. I’m working on our federal election, so I won’t get to see it until Sunday – but we’ll have the likes of Raihana, Theseo, Metal Bender, Triple Honour, Brilliant Light, Sniper’s Bullet, Danleigh, Love Conquers All in the Warwick Stakes in Sydney.
That will be interesting Gerald.
Three late entrants for the Melbourne Cup – Black Mamba (now with Gai, fresh from America), Miss Alia and the Japanese trained Meisho Dontaku.
Alcopop, Allez Wonder (not in MC but in the other two big ones), Holloway, Exceptionally, Fairygem, Fairfield Flame, Gorky Park, Macedonian, Moatize, Phaze Action, Precedence, Rebel Raider, Right Fong, Scouting Wide, Small Minds, Tobique and Zabdued are other Cup entrants who are entered this weekend.
Godolphin have not made any decisions yet about who they’ll bring down, or even if they will come down. Really hope to see them there though.
This Liston Stakes this weekend is going to be an absolute cracker.
Nominated are a Caulfield Guineas placegetter (Carrara), NZ Derby winner and Melbourne Cup placegetter (C’est La Guerre), an Australian Guineas and Underwood Stakes winner (Heart of Dreams), a VRC Derby winner (Monaco Consul), an Irish Derby placegetter (Mourayan), a Stradbroke Handicap winner (Mr Baritone), last year’s Liston Stakes winner (Predatory Pricer), a Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes placegetter (Raffaello), a Melbourne Cup winner (Shocking), an AJC Derby winner (Shoot Out), a Cox Plate winner (So You Think), last year’s Mudgway Stakes, Windsor Park Plate and Geelong Cup placegetter (Sterling Prince), a Caulfield Cup placegetter (Vigor) and an Auckland Cup winner (Zavite).
All won or placed at G1 level.
Then you add the rest – Apprehend, an emerging stayer who I thought ran a great race in the Bletchingly; Jungle Ruler, a 1400m specialist who loves wet tracks; Shamoline Warrior, enough has been said on here about him; Sherpa Tenzing, who ran 3rd in the VRC St Leger; Tollesprit, emerging stayer who was quite disappointing in the Bletchingly.
This is as good a Liston Stakes as you’ll get IMO.
