Look out, the French are getting serious again! Racing Victoria reports that improving French stayer Shahwardi will take a path successfully plotted by compatriots Americain and Dunaden when he takes part in this year's Spring Racing Carnival. The Alain de Royer Dupre-trained galloper has been nominated for the $300,000 Grp 3 Geelong Cup (2400m) on 24 October - a key stepping stone to the $6.2 million Grp 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 6. Significantly, that was the path de Royer Dupre took

Look out, the French are getting serious again! Racing Victoria reports that improving French stayer Shahwardi will take a path successfully plotted by compatriots Americain and Dunaden when he takes part in this year's Spring Racing Carnival. The Alain de Royer Dupre-trained galloper has been nominated for the $300,000 Grp 3 Geelong Cup (2400m) on 24 October - a key stepping stone to the $6.2 million Grp 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 6. Significantly, that was the path de Royer Dupre took with Americain in 2010, as followed by Mikel Delzangles with Dunaden last year. RV's international recruitment officer Leigh Jordon says de Royer Dupre is keen to stick with a winning formula. Shahwardi, currently in quarantine in England alongside Americain and Dunaden, was allotted 51.5kgs in the Melbourne Cup when weights were released at Flemington on Tuesday morning.

Geelong Racing Club chief executive Paul Carroll is, naturally, delighted to hear that de Royer Dupre again plans to have a presence at Geelong with the Club offering record prizemoney for the Cup, up 33% on last year's edition. "The Geelong Cup has been an outstanding guide to the Melbourne Cup of late with the winner or runner-up of the iconic Flemington event coming through our race in each of the past four years," Carroll says. "Bauer and Crime Scene both ran close seconds at Flemington and, of course, Americain and Dunaden completed the double...It's fantastic for this year's Cup, which carries record prizemoney, that international trainers are again targeting the race which means the eyes of Europe will be upon us once again."