Luca Cumani has criticised Jamie Spencer’s riding of leading Emirates Melbourne Cup contender Mount Athos as the trainer confirmed he is in the process of acquiring an Australian jockey for the Flemington showpiece.
Spencer partnered the Marwan Koukash-owned stayer to finish fifth in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and eighth in the Goodwood Cup earlier this season before Richard Hughes took over with a strong second in the Listed March Stakes last time.
Speaking in an interview with Australian broadcaster RSN, Cumani said: “It’s on record that he was given two very bad rides. It wasn’t the plan to ride him like that so I insisted a change of jockey and we got the result that we expected.”
Mount Athos is set to return to Melbourne in an attempt to better last year’s fifth-placed finish off a wide run under Ryan Moore.
Cumani added: “The jockey hasn’t quite been fixed up yet, but there’s every chance it will be an Australian jockey.”
Cumani, a Melbourne Cup regular, has tapped into local knowledge for his runners before to so nearly deliver Britain a first success. He used Damien Oliver on 2007 runner-up Purple Moon and the following year booked Corey Brown to partner Bauer to a nose second to Viewed.
Mount Athos has been allocated the same weight – 54kg (8st 7lb) – as he carried 12 months ago and the plan is to head straight for the race on November 5.
“That’s the way that the horse likes to run, he likes to run fresh and that’s what we did last year and he ran very well last year.
“I’m very happy with him, I’m happy with his condition, I’m happy with the way he ran his race last time and I’m happy with the way he ran before Ascot.
“It’s just those two blips were entirely due to the way he was ridden.”
– racingpost.com
