‘Jaded’ Incentivise to miss Cox Plate
INDOMITABLE Caulfield Cup winner Incentivise is all but certain to bypass the $5m Cox Plate after pulling up “a little bit jaded” on Sunday.
With the $8m Melbourne Cup only 15 days away, trainer Peter Moody wants to rejuvenate the spring sensation before making further plans.
“I would think highly unlikely (for the Cox Plate) … just my own gut feel,” Moody said.
“It is the first time I’ve arrived here on a Sunday morning and he’s been a little bit jaded.
“Left a little bit of tucker overnight, unlike me.
“Listen, he’s in good order and bouncing and feeling well enough but I just thought he’s a bit more jaded than he has been previously.
“I would suggest he’s probably only ever going to get one crack at the Melbourne Cup, and dependent on handicaps and the way he bounces back, that’s probably the race to aim at – if we run in another race at all this preparation.”
Incentivise is the TAB $2.50 favourite to win the Melbourne Cup. The Queensland stayer has won nine races in a row, including the past three at Group 1 level – Makybe Diva Stakes, Turnbull Stakes and Caulfield Cup.
While unbeaten in Melbourne, the runs, albeit ultraimpressive, have required the five-year-old to dig in.
“He knows he’s been to the races,” Moody said. “He really applied himself, obviously, so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back.
“It’s something I haven’t experienced of him and I’ve got to learn of him.”
Kiwi mare Ethereal in 2001 is the last horse to complete the cups double. Legendary
Might And Power in 1997 was the last gelding to achieve the feat.
The weight penalty Incentivise receives from Racing Victoria handicapper Greg Carpenter on Monday is an important factor in the Melbourne Cup discussion. Incentivise, the shortest-priced Caulfield Cup winner since Tulloch in 1957, has 55.5kg in the Cup already.
In the past 20 years, no horse has won the Caulfield Cup by more than three lengths. A 1.5kg penalty would take Incentivise to 57kg, equal with imports Spanish Mission and Gold Trip and star mare Verry Elleegant, and 1kg less than last year’s winner Twilight Payment.
Carpenter will consider the merits of Incentivise’s Caulfield romp compared with previous cup wins.