Eleonora’s Ethereal run entree to main course

TOMORROW Palmerston North dogs. TUESDAY Christchurch dogs, Forbury Park dogs. WEDNESDAY Matamata gallops, Wanganui dogs. THURSDAY Oamaru gallops, Forbury Park trots, Cambridge dogs, Christchurch dogs. FRIDAY Counties gallops, Cambridge trots, Addington trots, Wanganui dogs, Christchurch dogs. SATURDAY Auckland gallops, Wellington gallops, Christchurch gallops. EXPERT TIPS AUCKLAND – Tim Ryan APPREHEND: In solid form and caught on the line last time out. In the first at Matamata on Wednesday. PINCANTO: Back from a spell. Won trial recently. Big chance in race three at Matamata. SHOCK HORROR: Encouraging third in debut. A win hope in race five. WAIKATO – Ross Fisher POKER FACE: Huge effort to get up for third at Ruakaka. Maiden 3-year-old with talent. TIFFANY’S TIME: Didn’t receive the best of luck in the running last start. Blinkers helped her. SMART THINKING: Ran into a smart type on debut. Should go close to winning next time. CENTRAL DISTRICTS – Paul Gueorgieff EFFECTAV: Got home strongly for third over 1400m at Hawera last weekend for second placing in two starts this campaign; more distance and better ground will suit. HEISTHEONE: Battling sixth over 2100m at Hawera but useful stayer who is better on top of the ground and can cope with longer distances. KOLONEL KEV: Winner of more than $100,000 who was a nice third at Hawera at just second start of latest campaign; will go on with it. CANTERBURY – Mat Kermeen REGAL GESTURE: Last two before spell weren’t great but has raced in some good fields. Can go close to upsetting them in race six at Methven today. QUITE A MOMENT: Big handicap to overcome but only serious threats are level with her and 10m in front. Hard to beat in race eight. SMART VC: Got soft trip last start but in much better field than this. The one to beat in the last. OTAGO-SOUTHLAND – Jamie Searle TROUBLE GIERO: Promising fourth in debut. Capable of beating maiden trotters in race one at Gore today. DARK HORSE: Talented trotter resuming in race five at Gore. Should be prominent. THREE DREAMS: No luck in recent starts. Don’t leave out of combination bets for race six at Gore. GREYHOUNDS – Peter Earley BRUCE BANNER: Another placing on Thursday in quick time, can get the maiden win in the sixth at Auckland today. SIMPLE AND PLAIN: Put paid to them on Thursday, drawn to beat a hot line up in race 12 at Manukau. VIDEO WATCH – Murray Wedlake SISTERELLA: Did very well to get going again after being hampered badly in the Ruakaka straight. ZAWHIP: Had to cover plenty of extra ground at Washdyke and kept fighting for a meritorious fourth. SHE’S GRACEFUL: Took some time to clear traffic in the run home at Washdyke and should have finished closer. IF ever there was an appropriate winner at Caulfield on Cup day it was the threeyear-old New Zealand-trained filly Eleonora, partnered by Damien Oliver.

The $7 shot took out the Ethereal Stakes, one of the most significant Oaks trials every year.

Not only is Eleonora trained (by the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman partnership) in the land of the long white cloud but she is a granddaughter of that grand New Zealand-trained staying mare Ethereal.

Eleonora’s special win ws the perfect entre´e for Jameka’s three length win in the A$3m Caulfield Cup which has moved her into Melbourne Cup favourtisim.

Ethereal sprung to prominence on this day in 2001 when she won the Caulfield Cup, following up with the Melbourne Cup 17 days later.

Eleonora may well have similar aspirations later in her career, but for now she is set to try and make her mark at Flemington in a different race, the VRC Oaks.

Eleonora showed plenty of staying potential in the 2000-metre Ethereal Stakes, scoring from Tiamo Grace with Savvan just keeping Moqueen out of third spot.

Oliver said after the race: ‘‘The distance won’t be a problem. She looks great going towards the Oaks.’’

Forsman added: ‘‘The Oaks has been a long-term plan for her.’’

‘‘We knew if she got in would be hard to beat.’’

Less than an hour after Eleonora’s win, the bloodline picked up another win when Imperium, a five-year-old son of Ethereal, victorious in a rating 65 over 2100m at Ashburton.

The Ciarian Maher-trained Jameka is now the favourite for the Melbourne Cup and jockey Nick Hall told the waiting pack of media that the Caulfield Cup winner would win the great race on November 1.

The four-year-old, a winner of the Victoria Oaks last year, beat home the English trained raider Scottish, with another international, Exospheric, running on for third ahead of the David Hayes-Tom Dabernig trained outsider Almoonquith.

‘‘We’ll go to the Melbourne Cup and we’ll win that as she’ll relish the extra the race she distance,’’ Hall said.

‘‘The extra weight will help me. stronger.’’

Hall rode at 55kg at last Saturday’s Caulfield meeting and a strict regime saw him down to 52.5kg to ride Jameka.

While admitting it was a tough week, Hall said he also enjoyed it. ‘‘It plays on my crazys a bit,’’ he said. ‘‘I had to do it tough but you’d do it everytime for a favourite in the Caulfield Cup.’’

Hall’s career has been interrupted by injury since his win on Fawkner for his godfather Lloyd Williams and Saturday’s win was his first ride in the Caulfield Cup since.

He said his second victory was in contrast to his first.

‘‘I loved that horse (Fawkner) as I was with him as a youngster,’’ Hall said.

‘‘I had a real good relationship with him and Lloyd as well. There was a lot of pressure there and it was good to crack my first one.

‘‘But with with him.

‘‘I’m sure we’ll enjoy this in a different manner.’’

Jameka became the first filly to win the Ciaron, I’m really I’ll be matey VRC Oaks and then go on to complete the Caulfield Cup double and became the first Caulfield-trained horse since Elvstroem to win.

Maher described horse.

She won the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes against the males as a two-yearold and Maher wasn’t afraid to throw her into the deep end in Sydney during the autumn.

‘‘She’s an extraordinary horse and she showed that today,’’ Maher said.

‘‘She won a two-year-old race on the boys and then the boys Derby in the autumn.

‘‘She showed that wasn’t a problem for her and she’s taken it to another level this time.’Meanwhile, Eleonora’s stablemate Highlad had no luck in the Group III Caulfield Classic when caught wide for the first half of the race.

Oliver tried to inject Highlad into the race with 500m to run but the early work told and the pair faded to finish ninth.

Another Kiwi who was desperately unlucky was Shillelagh who was badly checked out of contention in the Group II Tristarc Stakes when looking a strong chance in the race. Jameka as a rare taking in the