There have been plenty of big days in the racing life of WA owner/breeder Bob Peters but he expects none will compare with his first ever attempt at a Cox Plate this Saturday with Arcadia Queen.
‘’Every racing person aspires to having a runner in the race so its something of a win just to have a horse get there,’’ Peters said from Perth on Sunday.
‘’She’s come through some tough times over the last year and again when she had that little setback when we got to Victoria, but she’s going to Saturday’s race fit and well and ready to do her best we hope.’’
Arcadia Queen took the scalp of Russian Camelot at her last start in the Caulfield Stakes and while Peters expects another keen contest with that horse, the presence of the internationals in the $5 million Cox Plate means he cannot be too confident.
‘’They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t good enough so it’s a whole new challenge on Saturday,’’ he said. ‘’She’s trained on well and going into the race probably as well as she can be, so we’re hoping.’’
On November 2 last year, Arcadia Queen injured herself in the Golden Eagle and it was not until May that Peters said he felt the horse had come right. ‘’It took a long time to get her back, but she’s good now. She’s ready.’’
Arcadia Queen, who will be ridden by Willie Pike, marked the second favourite for the Cox Plate at $4.50 behind Russian Camelot ($3.80), who galloped impressively at The Valley on Saturday morning.
Peters said he’s tasted success on Cox Plate day with stakes wins with the likes of mares Centisle and Miss Margaret but he had never before attempted to win a Cox Plate.
A week after the Cox Plate comes another big day for Peters as he attempts to create a ‘’storm’’ in Sydney with two runners Superstorm and Windstorm in the $7.5 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill.
– racing.com
