The Caulfield Cup meeting will be held at Caulfield this Saturday. The course proper was rated a Good 3 on Thursday and with overcast weather in Melbourne, Caulfield should be racing on a firm surface with enough cushion on it on Saturday.
John O’Shea can kick-start the meeting with a winner for the punters with 3YO Berimbau in the opening race at Caulfield (Melbourne Race 1, 1400m). This Shamardal filly had been riden a lot further back in her 2 starts this preparation but from her good alley (barrier 5) on Saturday, I believe James McDonald will ride Berimbau a lot closer to the lead. Currently at $6.00 in the fixed odds market, Berimbau represents a value bet.
Team Hawkes have a strong hand in the Ethereal Stakes (Melbourne Race 3, 2000m) with Maastricht. The filly should have remained unbeaten as she was rather unlucky last start in the Edward Maniford Stakes, having to ease across heels at the 250m before just missed the leader by half a head at the finish. In a race without much pace on Saturday, Dwayne Dunn will ride the filly forward from barrier 12. Maastricht has good acceleration and she’ll be the one they all have to catch.
The Group 1 Caulfield Cup (Melbourne Race 9, 2400m) is usually a very open race and this year is no different. This is a race that wins by fast stayers, horses with speed and stamina. Race favourite Lucia Valentina certainly fits the mould of a fast stayer. She has shown tremendous acceleration in her victory in the Tramway Stakes & the Turnbull Stakes. However she had suffered some minor hoof injury & missed some fast work the week leading up to the Turnbull Stakes. You never like to see any hiccup leading up to a major race, especially to the toughest 2400m handicap race. Hence I have my doubt if she can finish the 2400m off as strongly as she has been showing this preparation.
I believe the David Hayes & Tom Dabernig-trained Stipulate could well be the knockout horse in the cup. The 6YO has been gearing towards the Caulfield Cup all along with an eye-catching win 1st up in the Listed Heatherlie Handicap (1700m). Another terrific run 2nd up in the Underwood Stakes under unsuitable WFA condition see Stipulate beaten only by 2.65 lengths. Though it is his first try at 2400m, all indications point to a strong performance over the trip by Stipulate, especially he was out of a Sadler’s Wells mare. Barrier 5 (into barrier 3 after scratchings) will ensure a nice cushy run mid-field on the fence for Stipulate. Currently at $21.00 fixed odds, Stipulate is tremendous value in the Caulfield Cup.
By Owens Wong, Editor
