OLIVER IN CUP RIDE

Champion hoop to ride Tassie roughie

TASMANIAN trainer Troy Blacker has enlisted the help of Group 1 king Damien Oliver for Wednesday’s Geelong Cup.

Blacker will this morning accept to run roughie Settler’s Stone in the $300,000 Group 3 race and knows having a jockey who has taken home the cup on Bauer (2008) and Media Puzzle (2002) will be a massive advantage.

“There is no better distance rider than Damien Oliver, is there?” he said.

“He’s won more Caulfield Cups than anyone riding today. He’s probably won more Melbourne Cups than anyone riding today.

“So he is a great distance rider, he’s got more than 100 Group 1 winners so he is the best.

“We’re hoping to add a Geelong Cup to the mantle piece.”

Settler’s Stone has been based out of Leon and Troy Corstens’ Flemington stables since travelling across Bass Strait.

And since getting out to the Geelong Cup’s 2400m distance he has been in consistent form.

He ran third at benchmark 84 level at Caulfield last week and also finished third in the Listed R.M. Ansett Classic at Mornington before that.

Blacker said the Geelong Cup had only been a recent addition to Settler’s Stone’s schedule.

“It fell into the program. All of these major little cups are always on the radar,” he said. “We thought we’d have a crack at it. “We want to run on Melbourne Cup day (over 2800m) and it would have been three weeks between runs. The horse is doing well, so I thought we’d need another run and the Geelong Cup was a good option to back him up.

“He will go to that race on Melbourne Cup day and then he might end up at the Sandown Cup over 3200m.”

Blacker will leave Tasmania tomorrow night to be with his horse on Geelong Cup Day.

He praised the work the Corstens stable had done.

“I’ve been going backwards and forwards as much as I can,” Blacker said.

“I’m really lucky to have Troy and Leon Corstens looking out for me. I’ve known them since I was a child and they’re good family friends.

“They look after him like he is one of theirs when I am not there.”

Blacker said he was confident his sixyear-old would perform well despite his modest rating.

“With his fitness he is still improving and the 2400m and the track will suit him,” he said. “He drops in weight. He has got a good realistic chance without seeing the final field.”