Speed Gifted on course for glory after impressing cups handicapper
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday October 6, 2009
British import Speed Gifted is almost certain to make it to the Caulfield and Melbourne cups fields after Racing Victoria chief handicapper Greg Carpenter yesterday issued the stayer a two-kilogram penalty for both races.Speed Gifted, which won The Metropolitan at group 1 level at Randwick last weekend, has rocketed up the elimination order for both races."Speed Gifted dominated his opposition in The Metropolitan Handicap and, while the race was run on rain-affected going, he had already won impressively at Flemington on good going since the weights were released," Carpenter announced yesterday. "The penalty is greater than those imposed on the most recent winners of The Metropolitan, reflecting the ease of his victory."Speed Gifted will have to carry 53kg in both cups, with the gelding equal 24th in the elimination order for the Caulfield Cup and 25th in order for the Melbourne Cup.A victory in the Caulfield Cup would attract a further weight penalty for the Melbourne Cup for Speed Gifted, leaving trainer Lee Freedman to consider missing the Caulfield feature to instead target the Cox Plate, in which he couldn't incur a weight penalty, en route to the Melbourne Cup. Freedman achieved the Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup double in 2005 with mighty mare Makybe Diva.SPRING HOPESGuy Walter is considering taking the talented Vonrob to Melbourne for a crack at some better races over the spring carnival after she toyed with rivals despite carrying 59kg to win yesterday's Kista Handicap at Warwick Farm.Ridden perfectly by Chris Munce, Vonrob accounted for the Patinack Farm-owned Drivel."She is a handy filly and she is racing very well," the Warwick Farm-based Walter said. "After that win she might head down to Melbourne for a 1400 metre fillies' race on Melbourne Cup day. We'll just see how we go."Munce paid tribute to Walter, saying: "He's done a great job with the filly. She had a tough run the other day in a good-class race at Randwick, and Guy got her to back up well today with the big weight."HK BLASTThe lure of a $US1 million ($1.15m) bonus for winning the Global Sprint Challenge could result in Australian racehorse of the year Scenic Blast travelling to Hong Kong for the International Sprint in December despite failing to beat a runner home in the Sprinters Stakes in Japan on Sunday.Trainer Dan Morton said the winner of the Lightning Stakes at Flemington and King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in Britain seemed to pull up well after suffering a mid-race check that put him out of contention in the Sprinters Stakes, in which jockey Mark Zahra said he was lucky to stay on his feet.SOUTHERN LUREFormer South African jockey Glyn Schofield will ride at Saturday's Rosehill meeting in Sydney but then make Melbourne home for the feature weekend racedays this spring."I'm planning to spend a bit more time in Melbourne this year than I did last year," Schofield said at Warwick Farm yesterday. "I'm going down to ride Red Lord for Anthony Cummings in the Caulfield Cup, and then I will go down the following week to ride Road To Rock in the Cox Plate."Schofield was in the saddle on Road To Rock when it surprised with a win in the George Main Stakes before it backed that up with a third to Rock Kingdom in the Epsom Handicap last weekend.COX PLATEMoonee Valley, October 24$4Whobegotyou$6 Maldivian$8 Predatory Pricer$9 HeartOf Dreams$10 El Segundo$13 Efficient, Trusting$14 So You Think$16 Black Piranha$18 Road To Rock$21 Red Ruler, Speed Gifted, ZippingBetchoice.com
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald