He’s travelled over 10,000 miles halfway across the world, endured a month’s quarantine, and now Docklands’ date with destiny is upon us. Saturday’s Cox Plate (7:10am) has been a long, long time in the planning, and I’m delighted to say that with only hours to go I couldn’t be happier with him.
He seems to have travelled to Australia really well. I arrived at the weekend and was delighted when I saw him in quarantine on Monday morning. He had a gallop around Moonee Valley last week and it’s all been very smooth, so we’re looking forward to Saturday.
We had him pretty fit before he travelled Down Under, and we’ve tried as much as possible to keep him in the same routine as he has at home. Jerome, his regular rider, has been really happy with him, and while it’s been a relatively long time since his last run at York, Saturday will very much be the acid test of how he is.
The Cox Plate is a massive race in Australia. It’s their version of the Juddmonte (International), so to travel a horse halfway across the world and compete is huge, and it would be a massive result for us if he were to win.
You can make a case for a lot of his opposition in the race. It sort of reminds me of this year’s Juddmonte, in that there’s a big field because a lot of people think they have a chance. Mr Brightside, Pride Of Jenni, Prognosis and Via Sistina all bring in strong formlines, but I do feel like we match up well with them and there’s no obvious standout.
Winning the race would be amazing for the yard, but also a massive result for the owners in particular. OTI Racing have been big backers of ours and if we could get them the best result possible that would be fantastic. Let’s hope we’ve got a shout turning in for home!
While naturally we’re all focused on Saturday and Docklands, we’re also excited about Sea King who’s due to run very soon.
Our new recruit goes for the Bendigo Cup next Wednesday (30th October), and it’s probably a good thing we skipped the Geelong Cup after the way Brian Ellison’s Onesmoothoperator won the race on Wednesday!
He looks to be in great form, and we’re hoping he’s going to be competitive next week with every chance to win, even though he has a bit to find on form. Should he do the business, he’ll get himself a run in the Melbourne Cup, which would be ideal, so fingers crossed.