Cockram on the money
GEELONG horse breeder Bill Cockram was nowhere to be seen at the Melbourne Cup but that didn’t stop him watching on from home as Dollar For Dollar saluted in the 1400m Benchmark 90 Lavazza Short Black on Tuesday.
It was the third straight win for the five-year-old gelding, backing up from comfortable victories at Morphettville last month.
A year after watching his star stayer Jameka follow up from her Caulfield Cup win by finishing 15th in the Melbourne Cup, Cockram watched on from the couch and said it was a special feeling having a winner on one of racing’s biggest days.
“Obviously a few weeks before, winning the Caulfield Cup, is one of my greatest moments in racing,” Cockram said. “I was very proud of Jameka and don’t take that for granted at all.
“So we obviously had a runner in the Melbourne Cup last year with Jameka, but I think the feeling of winning a lesser race is better than running down the track in the Cup in some ways. I wasn’t there as I had family commitments but I was certainly there in spirit.”
The 1.5 lengths win was the sixth of Dollar For Dollar’s career from 11 starts and first from four attempts at Flemington.
Cockram said trainer Tony McEvoy would likely target the Sandown Stakes in nine days before sending the son of High Chaparral to the paddock in preparation for next autumn.
“I would say he won’t set any unrealistic task for the horse, he’ll look for a similar race and I think he’d like to keep him in Melbourne,” he said.
“He’ll run in a fortnight’s time and be competitive again but knowing Tony, he won’t throw him in the deep end anywhere. Every time the horse has come in, he has progressed and Tony still thinks he can next preparation.
“You run out of time at this time of year if you want to sit them out and have them ready for autumn. Although he’s had a few little breaks, he probably only needs one more run and then he’ll go out.”
Previous winners of the Sandown Stakes include Pornichet and the David Hayestrained Redkirk Warrior.