IN AN attempt to resurrect Weekend Hussler's bid for Australian racing's holy grail, trainer Ross McDonald will fit a tongue tie to the gelding for Saturday's Caulfield Cup, with the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup still on the agenda.
"We are not certain he needs it but it can't hurt," McDonald said yesterday. "At the end of a staying race their mouths can get a bit dry and so if the tongue goes back a bit they usually struggle to get it forward."
The gear will also be fitted to Maldivian, which this time last year was a raging hot favourite for the Caulfield Cup but was scratched after rearing in the barriers and sustaining a nasty gash to its neck on race day.
There will be no such gear changes for Saturday's Winning Edge Presentation Stakes victor Dolphin Jo, with Terry O'Sullivan, who trains the horse in partnership with daughter Karina, yesterday declaring the Caulfield Cup was the stayer's next mission.
The first of a trio of Kiwi raiders arrived in town yesterday: AJC Australian Derby winner Nom Du Jeu settling at Caulfield, and derby runner-up Red Ruler and the AJC Australian Oaks second placegetter Boundless due to arrive in Melbourne on Wednesday evening.
Weekend Hussler was deposed as Caulfield Cup favourite when eighth in the Turnbull Stakes; race winner Littorio is now at the top of most markets.
Last year, Maldivian went into the Caulfield Cup after battering rivals in the Yalumba Stakes the week before, but this time round trainer Mark Kavanagh has taken a different route with the gelding appearing to hit the wall over the closing stages in recent outings.
"Maldivian has been rolling into his races like he was going to run away and then he is stopping," Kavanagh said yesterday. "Suddenly something is making him do that and we've had a good look at him, there is nothing physically wrong with him."
Kavanagh will work Maldivian in the tongue tie tomorrow morning at Flemington, while Boundless's trainer, Steve McKee, has no doubt the trio of New Zealanders are "live chances" in the Caulfield Cup.
"They can all stay, which helps," McKee said. "She [Boundless] has done really well since the Kelt Capital, she has improved quite a bit. She worked better yesterday morning than she has all campaign, so I'm happy with her."
The late arrival in town is not a concern, McKee said, pointing out that "she had never seen Trentham before winning the New Zealand Oaks or Randwick". He added that jockey Dwayne Dunn "goes pretty good at Caulfield".
O'Sullivan had intended following the Melbourne Cup campaign blazed by Dolphin Jo over the past two years - running in the Winning Edge and then the Moonee Valley Gold Cup - but things changed when Clare Lindop guided the gelding to victory in the Winning Edge on the weekend.
"He pulled up really well and went for a swim this morning," O'Sullivan said.
It will be Dolphin Jo's third start in as many weeks but O'Sullivan said "he did win three races in 21 days earlier in his career" - a sequence that culminated in victory in the VRC St Leger.
With Pompeii Ruler, the New Zealand Derby winner C'Est La Guerre, Anamato and Barbaricus declared non-starters in the Caulfield Cup, the way has been opened for the Paul Perry-trained Newport to sneak into the race.
The Metropolitan winner sits 24th in the elimination order, but with the four above not running and question marks over Zarita and Fiumicino, Newport could continue the Metrop domination of the Caulfield Cup.
Previous Metrop winners Railings and Tawqeet went on to win the Caulfield Cup.
"I couldn't be happier with the horse and the big thing is the horse goes well the Melbourne way," Perry said.
Newport's jockey, apprentice Peter Wells, said: "A last-start winner at group 1 level over the same trip is a bonus … it would be good if they get a bit of rain down there, it would help his chances even more."
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff