Charles Road, Bostonian tackle Flemington features
It’s not the Melbourne Cup but David Archer is hoping today’s Gr.3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington might be just as lucrative.
The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Sir Charles Road was paid up for Tuesday’s Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) but missed a place in the final field of 24.
However, by making the final payment, which was reimbursed by the club when Sir Charles Road missed making the Cup field, connections became eligible for a A$200,000 bonus should he win the Queen Elizabeth.
Sir Charles Road earned A$150,000 for his seventh place finish in last year’s Melbourne Cup but would bank A$380,000 for Archer, his partner Di Wright and children Simon and Natalie if he was to win on Saturday.
“We knew pretty early on in the piece we weren’t going to make it, but we were advised to pay up for the Cup so we were eligible for this bonus. It was a strategic move,” Archer said.
“We’d love to see him come up trumps on Saturday because he really deserves it. He’s been so unlucky over here. He’s been blocked and not getting the best of runs but his performances have all been good.
“He’s up against the likes of Carif and True Self on Saturday but he’s so well and everyone keeps telling us the big boy is looking so good. He won’t be far away.”
A Group Two winner of the Chairman’s Handicap at 2600m in Sydney last year before placing in the Gr.1 Sydney
Cup (3200m), Sir Charles Road placed in the Gr.1 Metropolitan (2400m) and the Australian St Leger (2600m) at Randwick before finishing fourth in last Saturday’s Gr.3 Lexus Hotham (2500m) at Flemington, a race that would have qualified him for the Melbourne Cup had he won.
“Dwayne Dunn made the right choice to back off a hot speed because the two horses that set the speed finished out the back, but it still wasn’t easy to make up ground at Flemington last week,” Archer said.
“We’ll be going forward come what may on Saturday. He went down to the beach with Bostonian on Wednesday and chilled out. He’s a pretty happy horse and we think he’ll run really well.
“We might well have another crack at an Auckland Cup (Gr.1, 3200m). He’s so sound so we could consider a Sydney autumn campaign or even getting him to Brisbane next winter.”
Archer’s focus won’t be solely on Charles Road today though, with the Tony Pike-trained Bostonian tackling the Gr.1 Darley Sprint Classic (1200m) in the following race, with Dunn again booked to ride.
Archer said connections would consider an invitation for the Gr.1 Hong Kong International Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin on December 8 if Bostonian won today but he was more likely to return to New Zealand with the Gr.1 JR & N Berkett Telegraph (1200m) at Trentham on January 18 an attractive option under weight-forage conditions.