UK star Mount Athos booked his ticket to Australia for the Melbourne Cup with a clear-cut success in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury. Mount Athos (5/4f) hit top gear for Ryan Moore 400m out and the Luca Cumani-trained stayer strolled away to win by 3.25 lens. Moore says: 'It was a tough race - they went off quite hard and I wanted to get cover on this horse. We were racing a long way out and it happened nice enough in the end, but I was there a little bit early.' Cumani was delayed in traff
UK star Mount Athos booked his ticket to Australia for the Melbourne Cup with a clear-cut success in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury. Mount Athos (5/4f) hit top gear for Ryan Moore 400m out and the Luca Cumani-trained stayer strolled away to win by 3.25 lens. Moore says: 'It was a tough race - they went off quite hard and I wanted to get cover on this horse. We were racing a long way out and it happened nice enough in the end, but I was there a little bit early.' Cumani was delayed in traffic and missed the race, though he was able to listen to it. He says: 'I talked to Ryan and he was very happy and thought the horse picked up nicely. The plan is to go for the Melbourne Cup. After this, I would think he will go up to 53.5 kilograms, which is the same as one of our other hopes for the race, Quest For Peace.The plan is for him to go into quarantine for two weeks starting on September 12, then travel to Australia on September 27 or 28.'