Positive Winchester camp
GEELONG-owned Caulfield Cup hope Winchester must overcome a tough barrier if he is to secure Group 1 glory on Saturday.
Rosemont Stud’s Anthony Mithen was given the duties of drawing the barrier yesterday and admitted luck wasn’t on his side after Winchester drew gate 16.
‘‘We come into 14 (after emergencies come out), it’s not a disaster. I think the way it is going to be run we are going to end up with some good speed,’’ Mithen said.
‘‘We will probably stick to the plan and be positive, rather than going back to last. We will leave it in the capable hands of (jockey) Jamie Mott.
‘‘I didn’t cover myself in glory dragging 16 out. It is tough getting called first up.’’
The 2400m Caulfield Cup is Winchester’s last hitout before the Melbourne Cup.
‘‘ It’s a pretty important preliminary final. You’d like to be running a good race,’’ Mithen said. ‘‘We will be plotting and scheming and studying speed maps to see how we can get a good run for him.’’