Flemington track to suit Jon Snow
Stayer in fine fettle for Melbourne Cup
The wide open spaces of Flemington will be a major plus for Jon Snow in next Tuesday’s A$6.2 million Melbourne Cup. “The main thing for him is getting away from Caulfield and on to a bigger track will really suit him,” said Andrew Forsman, who trains the four-year-old with Murray Baker.
Jon Snow finished third two runs back in the Gr.1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) before he copped interference when unplaced in the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).
“He’s doing well and he had a good gallop this morning and Stephen Baster is happy that the horse is on target,” Forsman said.
“It’s hard to go into a race like this too confident when they haven’t run the trip before and the form lines are so hard to work out, but he is very well.”
Jon Snow has been ridden throughout his Melbourne campaign by Baster, who will be aboard in the Cup.
Meanwhile, Weather With You has made good progress since his victory in the Listed Geelong Classic (2200m), an effort that booked his spot in Saturday’s Gr.1 VRC Derby (2500m).
“That was his last chance to put his hand up and he did that,” Forsman said.
Weather With You drew barrier 2 yesterday for the Derby and was rated a $7.50 chance at the Aussie TAB.
Mark Zahra was aboard at Geelong and he will again ride Weather With You, the stable’s only Derby runner with the decision to bypass the race with Vin De Dance.
“It’s just too soon for him,” Forsman said.
“He’s been thrown in the deep end a bit and I think he’s done very well for a horse who still doesn’t know what it’s all about.”
Third at Caulfield in his Australian debut and fifth behind Aloisia in the Gr.2 Moonee Valley Vase, Vin De Dance will make his next appearance in the Listed Batman Stakes (1800m) at Flemington on November 17.
Who Shot Thebarman’s fan club will again be out in force at Flemington next Tuesday.
They will be cheering on the marathon marvel when he makes his fourth Melbourne Cup appearance.
The durable New Zealand-bred and owned nine-year-old will also be chasing history as he bids to become the oldest winner of the event.
“He just keeps showing up, he’s amazing,” said Dan O’Leary, who shares in the ownership of Who Shot Thebarman with his brothers Humphrey, Michael and Shaun.
“We had 80 to 100 there last year, all family and friends and it will be the same this time.”
Who Shot Thebarman finished third in the Cup in 2014, unplaced in 2015 and fifth 12 months ago.
“Chris Waller has done a tremendous job with the horse, just to have him run in the race four times is a feat in itself,” O’Leary said.
Who Shot Thebarman earned his return to Flemington with his laststart success in the Gr.2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m).
“We weren’t expecting that, we were just hopeful,” O’Leary said. “On the really hard tracks in Sydney he wasn’t stretching out and Chris thought he would on the Moonee Valley track.”
That victory took Who Shot Thebarman’s career earnings in excess of A$3 million, an outstanding return on his purchase price from breeders White Robe Lodge.
“It was either eight or 10,000 that Michael paid for him,” O’Leary said. “He bought him over the phone after Wayne Stewart went through the horses and Michael went through all the breeding.
“Yamanin Vital has been a very good sire, he leaves some great staying horses.”
Who Shot Thebarman didn’t begin racing until he was a late four-year- old, although that wasn’t entirely by design. “He was a bit difficult early on and took a while to settle down,” O’Leary said.
The gelding made rapid progress under the guidance of Mark Oulaghan and won the Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) at just his ninth start for the Awapuni trainer.
To be ridden in Tuesday’s Cup by Tommy Berry, Who Shot Thebarman will carry 54kg — the lightest weight on his back since he won the Ellerslie feature in 2014 with 52.5kg.
His Flemington feats aside for Waller, he is also the winner of the Gr.2 Zipping Classic (2400m) and the Gr.3 Bart Cummings (2520m), as well as multiple Group One placings.