Lucia Valentina, the eye-catching Caulfield Cup run outside dominant Japanese stayer Admire Rakti, confirmed many things for Kris Lees with her brave placing.
Lees is convinced that Lucia Valentina will run out the Melbourne Cup journey. He says she hit the line strongly despite a testing journey in the Caulfield Cup.
“I’m confident she could finish in the first five on that run,” Lees said on Sunday. “I like the way she copped a fair bit of adversity and still savaged the line with the quickest last 200 metres of the race and still ran through the line. I’m more confident of her running two miles today than I was yesterday. I was wondering whether she might be too brilliant for two miles, but I think she’ll run it on yesterday.
“I think we’ve got to push on. She'll probably only get one chance at it. I'd like to think next year she'd be a weight-for-age horse. I’m pleased with how she came through it. She's a tough little mare.
“She all but ate and drank half a bucket of water and was nice and bright when I took her for a pick. She was quite alert, which is a good sign.
“The Melbourne Cup will only be her fifth run in. It's not as if she’s had a real taxing preparation.”
Lucia Valentina rattled off the fastest closing sectionals over the final 1000 metres and that was after being wide and pushed even deeper on the final bend.
Lees lamented that Lucia Valentina lacks the early tactical speed to put herself into a more forward position, particularly advantageous around Caulfield.
What is also likely to work in the favour of Lucia Valentina is that Admire Rakti is liable for a rehandicap.
Racing Victoria chief handicapper Greg Carpenter will announce on Monday what, if any, penalty Admire Rakti will take into the Melbourne Cup.
Admire Rakti currently is topweight with 58kg in the Melbourne Cup. Think Big, who shouldered 58.5kg in 1975, is the last horse to carry more than 58kg to victory in the Cup. (Racing Network)