Kiwis aim for start in Sydney Cup re-run
New Zealanders with runners in Saturday’s abandoned Sydney Cup are keen to take part in a re-run of the 3200 metre race.
Connections of Chance To Dance, Mister Impatience and Pentathlon will commit to the rescheduled race.
Six of the original starters completed Saturday’s A$2,000,000 race amid controversy when Racing New South Wales stewards called it a ‘‘no-race’’.
A fear the injured Almoonqith could get up and run back towards the field prompted stewards to declare a ‘‘no-race’’ at Randwick.
The Cup will be run in a different form on either April 22 or Anzac Day – that’s the expectation from the Australian Turf Club pending confirmation approval from Racing New South Wales.
New Plymouth trainer John Wheeler had Pentathlon in the race and the gelding was one of those pulled up when a ‘‘no-race’ was declared by stewards after Almoonqith broke down and Who Shot Thebarman fell passing the winning post towards the 1600m.
‘‘I can’t really work out why the stewards abandoned the race but the decision was made,’’ the experienced Wheeler said.
Wheeler has left Pentathlon in Sydney for the re-run.
‘‘I’ve left the horse over there – he’s going super and a good track and a half-decent ride is all he needs to be competitive,’’ he said.
Chance To Dance transferred into New Zealand ownership after well-known syndicator John Galvin purchased the 6-year-old gelding for A$260,000 at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale on March 30.
He ran second in Saturday’s ‘‘no-race’’ which potentially could have returned his 66 new owners A$385,000 in prize money.
That wasn’t to be but he will be definitely be back for the re-run.
‘‘He ran a super race,’’ said a philosophical Galvin.
‘‘He pulled up so well – he ate his hay and most of his feed after the run and drank his water so he is ready to go for round two.
‘‘If Saturday’s placing stood, it would have been a hell of a coup but we intended to buy him Sydney Cup or no Sydney Cup.
‘‘It’s not so much about the money for a lot of the people involved it’s about the thrill.’’
Trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards will leave Chance To Dance in Sydney for the re-run.
Galvin had 24 of the syndicate at Randwick on Saturday and expects a big turnout for the rerun.
Mister Impatience, trained in partnership by Mike Moroney and Pam Gerard in New Zealand, has joined the stable’s Australian arm under Moroney’s care and will be back at Randwick for the re-run.
‘‘As long as he runs well in the Sydney Cup he’ll probably have another crack at the Queensland Cup,’’ Moroney said.
Australian Turf Club CEO Darren Pearce said that initial indications were that 11 of the original 14 final acceptors, were willing to run a re-staged event.
Support payments will be made ‘for those not fit enough to back up due to circumstances’, Pearce said.
‘‘The most likely scenario is it [Sydney Cup] will be run on April 22,’’ Pearce said on Skysport Radio.
‘‘We’ll relocate the Warwick Farm meeting to Randwick.
‘‘A decision will be made whether new nominations will be called for.’’
Chris Waller was happy for his trio, Nz-owned Who Shot Thebarman, who has recovered surprisingly well from the ordeal, Libran and Kinema to continue to the revised running. Her autumn campaign has barely finished but already plans are being made for Winx’s spring.
Those plans don’t take too much working out. Her path to a third Cox Plate will pretty much mirror the preparation leading to her second.
Winx gave her fans what they expected with her four wins so far this year culminating in Saturday’s $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes, her 17th victory in a row and 12th at Group One level.
Last spring, Winx missed a scheduled run in the Chelmsford Stakes because trainer Chris Waller though the heavy track would be too testing and could jeopardise her Group One targets.
In an unprecedented wet March, Waller learned she can handle the wet tracks just fine as she did in the Chipping Norton and George Ryder Stakes.
‘‘I always blamed the wet track for her defeat in the Oaks,’’ Waller said.
‘‘And it was definitely a concern this time but she has handled them well.’’
The 2015 Australian Oaks was the last time Winx was beaten when she ran second to Gust Of Wind.
A man of systems, Waller will work back from the Cox Plate to determine her spring programme although Sydney’s newest race, The Everest (1200m), is not in his thoughts.
However the possibility of the Craven Plate (2000m) on the same day has appeal.
The Group Three race over 2000 metres is mooted to be moved to October 14 from its traditional first weekend of the month.
‘‘I have heard that so it does come into the picture,’’ Waller said.
But for now the mare will have a few days in her stable before a couple of weeks in a paddock enjoying the grass.
Her next door neighbour in the Waller stable, Foxplay, has earned the moniker Winx Junior and she played her part on Saturday when she beat the older mares in the Group One Coolmore Legacy.
‘‘She is probably a bit ahead of Winx in terms of results at the same stage of their careers,’’ Waller said.