Withhold seeking Geelong pathway
BRITISH stayer Withhold will be out to replicate the feats of Media Puzzle, Americain and Dunaden when he kicks off his Australian preparation in next Wednesday’s Geelong Cup.
For two years, trainer Roger Charlton and his son Tom have had Australia’s greatest race in mind for the son of Champs Elysees, and have set about meticulously planning his pathway to next month’s two-mile race.
In fact, in that time, the sixyear-old has had just three starts — by choice, not because of issues — with the intention to outsmart Racing Victoria chief handicapper Greg Carpenter and get into the $7 million race with just 53kg.
But when the record number of entries were released, Withhold found itself 34th in the order, falling 1kg short of the mark that will guarantee a start in the Melbourne Cup.
“We’ve kept him lightly raced, he’s won two big handicaps and when we won the last handicap, we thought it would put him on the perfect weight, which is 53kg,” Tom Charlton told the Geelong Advertiser.
“But due to the slightly abnormal year, a lot more horses have come down which has slightly changed our plans.”
Next week’s Geelong Cup will be Withhold’s ticket into the Group 1, as the stable looks to replicate the achievements of fellow internationals Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011), each of which broke on to the Australian scene in Geelong before claiming the Melbourne Cup.
At Withhold’s only run in 12 months — back in June over 3200m at Newmarket — he beat a field of 20 that included A Prince Of Arran, a fellow British horse that ran third on Saturday at Caulfield in the Herbert Power.
Charlton knows the form will stand up, and the commitment from top jock Kerrin McEvoy to ride on Wednesday is only testament to that.
The champion hoop, who has won two Melbourne Cups — Brew (2002) and Almandin (2016) — told Charlton the stayer surprised him with how he felt in a gallop at Werribee on Tuesday, and will only enhance the galloper’s chances at Geelong.
“A race over 2400m will be like a prep race in work; it’s not like he’s having a real gruelling run over that trip,” Charlton said.
“He’s had such an easy year and he’s so fresh; he has a huge capacity, you can never really get to the bottom of him.
“He’s got class, he’s got tactical speed. I know people think he’s a bit of a stayer because he’s won over a lot further but he definitely has gears.”
Roger won’t travel from the UK unless Withhold gains a Melbourne Cup start, but Tom said he had no reason to believe his father wouldn’t be booking a flight on Wednesday evening.
“I think we’ve got the horse that can do the business, and I’m sure everyone does, but you don’t get many chances,” he said.
“He’ll go forward but I wouldn’t say he’ll be leading. I don’t know what draw we’ll get but we’ll roll forward. He’s got a lovely strong stride, so we'll give him some running room from the top of the straight.
“I wish the race was tomorrow.”