Trainer ‘disappointed’ after import cut from Cox field
WARWICK Farm trainer Matthew Smith had no choice other than to take Keiai Nautique’s Cox Plate rejection on the chin.
The Moonee Valley Racing Club Committee used its power to veto Keiai Nautique’s Cox Plate bid at its annual meeting to decide the field on Tuesday morning.
Keiai Nautique was one of 11 acceptors for the Cox Plate, but the MVRC committee declared a field of 10 to compete for $5m in Saturday’s event.
The stallion pleased jockey Craig Newitt with his gallop at The Valley on Tuesday morning – an hour before the MVRC committee omitted the seven-year-old from the Cox Plate field.
Keiai Nautique was a Group 1 winner in Japan before moving to Smith’s stable.
The stallion has been competitive without winning in his three Australian runs, but those efforts weren’t enough to earn him a Cox Plate start.
“I’m just disappointed. How couldn’t you be?” Smith said.
“I suppose if it were a full field, I’d get it, but it’s more disappointing when they don’t have a full field.
“I’m not a decision maker obviously but they don’t want him, so they haven’t got him.”
MVRC chief executive Michael Browell said the fact Keiai Nautique had not won since his Group 1 triumph in May 2018 counted against him in Cox Plate deliberations.
“It was a lineball decision,” Browell said. “There was a lot of debate around the committee table this morning.
“The horse had not won a race for three years, so that probably went against him and we probably feel that he’s a little better at 1600m.
“His best run since coming out was fourth in the Group 1 Winx Stakes, but his other runs haven’t quite been there.”
Browell said he expected Keiai Nautique to accept for the Group 2 Schweppes Crystal Mile on Saturday.
Smith said he was weighing up whether to wait for the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington for Keiai Nautique’s next run.