Kiwis draw inside and out for Cup
Marsh happier with Crown Prosecutor’s handy barrier two
The tempo of tomorrow’s A$5 million Caulfield Cup could determine which Cambridge 4-year-old has been the winner from their vastly different barrier draws.
But one of the Kiwi trainers involved, Stephen Marsh, says he is a lot happier with Crown Prosecutor’s barrier of 2 than his fellow Waikato trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman copping 22 for The Chosen One.
The pair go into the race in good form with The Chosen One excellent when winning the A$400,000 Herbert Power on this track last Saturday to earn an automatic spot in tomorrow’s race.
Crown Prosecutor hasn’t won in four starts since capturing the Vodafone Derby at Ellerslie on March 2 but hit the line hard behind a rampant Melody Belle in the Livamol at Hastings last start.
That was enough to convince Marsh and Crown Prosecutor’s connections to give him a shot at tomorrow’s Cup.
“Being a Derby winner and the way he went last start he deserves a crack at this, especially with it being a handicap,” says Marsh,
“He gets in well with 52.5kgs and I think the draw really helps us. The market suggests that because he has gone from $51 to $34.”
Marsh asked rider Craig Grylls to change tactics last start on Crown Prosecutor, who usually likes to race handy, and they let him find his feet and his rhythm in the Livamol which helped him find the line better.
“He ran the quickest last 600m in the Livamol but from barrier two this time we will be a little handier,” says Marsh.
“We want him to get out of the gates okay but without being bustled and hopefully settle somewhere 5-8th.
“If he can do that and not get squeezed up around that first bend he will get his chance.
“Whether he is good enough we don’t know because it is really hard to line up the form with all the Europeans in there.
“But I know he is better than when he came over to Sydney and failed in the autumn because he was probably past his peak then after a hard run in the Derby.
“This week he is right where he needs to be.”
So too clearly is The Chosen One, who also has a light weight and most importantly showed he can handle Caulfield coming wide when he won last Saturday.
That could be crucial again because he has drawn so wide (he will start from 18 after the emergencies come out) that he will almost certainly settle back of midfield for new rider Stephen Baster.
That means he should be giving Crown Prosecutor and plenty of others a start but while being back in the field is often a negative at Caulfield that may not prove to be the case in tomorrow’s great race.
Several of the favourites like Chris Waller’s European import Finche and Japanese stayer Mer De Glace have also drawn wide and Finche’s rider Michael Walker has already suggested he may have to roll forward. With over half the field carrying 54kgs or less there is the potential for plenty of others to chance their hands early too.
That would suit The Chosen One should he settle back and get a tow into the race over the last 1000m but that is still a hard way to win any group one, let alone around Caulfield.
The reality is the race is a nightmare puzzle for punters, trying to weigh up form as diverse as an Ebor winner at York like Mustajeer versus Finche, who ran second in the Turnbull Stakes last start and fourth in last season’s Melbourne Cup.
“It is almost impossible to line the form up so a lot might just come down to the run of the race. But we are in there with a show,” says Marsh.