Caulfield winner is a maybe
CONNECTIONS of talented galloper Onehundred Percent will make a late call on whether to run the horse at Geelong or wait until tomorrow’s meeting at Ballarat.
In search of a spot in the Melbourne Cup Carnival Country Final on Oaks Day, Onehundred Percent needs a top-two finish to qualify.
Sunday’s abandonment at Cranbourne, where Onehundred Percent was due to run has left trainer Archie Alexander in a pickle.
Onehundred Percent ran first up over 1100m, but will need to stretch to 1500m if he is to run at Geelong today.
Ballarat’s race is over 1400m, but he would be asked to carry 61kg, 4kg more than the Geelong race.
“Sunday threw the whole prep out a little bit. We want to get him to this race on Oaks Day which is over a mile (1600m),” local syndicator and Onehundred Percent’s managing owner Nathan Bennett said.
“The issue for us is stepping up from 1100m to 1500m. It’s not really done.
“Going to 1400m is no issue. But then we’ve got the weights to think about to.
“There’s a few things for us to weigh up, that’s for sure. We have to work out if he can run 1500m.”
Bennett admitted it would be nice to have a horse run on Geelong Cup Day in the Bennett Racing silks, but said connections remained steadfast in making sure they got Onehundred Percent to his grand final.
“The horse is going super. He is in great nick,” he said.
“Archie said he is working the house down and he has only lost 6kg since his first-up run.
“It’s just one of those things ... the Geelong race looks a little bit stronger than the Ballarat race.
“If the field drops away at Geelong with scratching then you’d be silly not to go there. It’s one of those ones where you make a late decision.
“It would be nice to have a runner on Cup Day, but we have to do the right thing by the horse and it’s owners.