The Prince’s fresh Cup bid
PRINCE of Arran looks set to return to defend his Geelong Cup later this year as part of a third Melbourne Cup tilt.
English trainer Charlie Fellowes has indicated the dual Melbourne Cup placegetter will use the same preparation for another shot at the world’s richest handicap race, worth $8 million.
The coronavirus has thrown world sport into chaos, but Fellowes said he would again bring Prince of Arran to Australia for the spring racing carnival.
PRINCE of Arran looks set to return to defend his Geelong Cup later this year as part of a third Melbourne Cup tilt.
English trainer Charlie Fellowes has indicated the dual Melbourne Cup placegetter will use the same preparation for another shot at the world’s richest handicap race, worth $8 million.
The seven-year-old gelding claimed the Geelong Cup last year on the way to a runner-up finish behind Vow and Declare in the race that stop a nation. He finished third behind Cross Counter in 2018.
The coronavirus has thrown world sport into chaos, but Fellowes said he would again bring Prince of Arran to Australia for the spring racing carnival.
Prince of Arran would also be chasing a slice of Geelong Cup history — no horse has won the race in consecutive years since it was first run in 1872.
“I can officially confirm that as long as the world is coronavirus-free, or as long as we can get to Australia … the plan is very much to come back,” Fellowes told racing.com.
“Who knows what’s going to happen? My original plan before what’s happened over the last weekend was to run in Dubai (for the World Cup), come back to England and then maybe have a run in the World Cup at Royal Ascot, (have a) little break and have the same, probably a very similar prep, routine into the Melbourne Cup as we had last year.”
The Group 3 lead-up is considered one of the best guides to the Melbourne Cup.
Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) have each completed the Geelong Cup-Melbourne Cup double.
Fellowes forecast Prince of Arran would again have two runs in Australia as part of his lead-up to the Flemington classic.
He was also runner-up in the Herbert Power Stakes. “I thought the Herbert Power, Geelong Cup routine worked really nicely last year,” he said.
“I thought the races were well spaced out and it gave him a good prep into the big one.
“He will be eight years old, your time, this year. He takes more getting fit than normal, (so) and easier start to the year and a good build-up into the race might be what we look at again.”