Now that's predatory handicapping...Looks like Predatory Pricer is a non-starter in the Caulfield Cup because trainer Paul Murray reckons he's been disgracefully weighted on 53.5kgs. PM snarls: 'They must think he is pretty good and obviously they don't want him in the race...He hasn't won a Grp 1 yet and is only half a kilogram away from all the winners of the big three-year-old races last season....Horses like Metal Bender (54kgs) and Rebel Raider (54.5) have won two Grp 1s each, and compared
Now that's predatory handicapping...Looks like Predatory Pricer is a non-starter in the Caulfield Cup because trainer Paul Murray reckons he's been disgracefully weighted on 53.5kgs. PM snarls: 'They must think he is pretty good and obviously they don't want him in the race...He hasn't won a Grp 1 yet and is only half a kilogram away from all the winners of the big three-year-old races last season....Horses like Metal Bender (54kgs) and Rebel Raider (54.5) have won two Grp 1s each, and compared to him they are thrown in...He is disgracefully weighted.'' The Cox Plate at weight-for-age (no weight complaints there!) is now the #1 target.
There may be a few international runners contesting the Cups this year. Luca Cumani, twice runner-up with Bauer (2008) and Purple Moon (2007), is aiming to bring Cima De Triomphe (55.5) and Basaltico (51.5), while the Aidan O'Brien-trained pair Age Of Aquarius (51) and Changingoftheguard (50.5) will press their claims in the English St Leger on Sept 12.
Champ sprinter Scenic Blast is currently an 'exile' from Australia and it's all because of our super-tough quarantine laws.The Royal Ascot winner cannot return to Australia until late in December as he must quarantine in a third country for 60 days after he races in Japan in October. It rules Australia's best sprinter out of a Grp 1 sprint at Flemington on the final day of the carnival. SB's predicament is not a one-off. The Q-laws are killing off international representation for the Cups. The reason? It's just too difficult to meet all the requirements.
Jot down the name..Mick Price is thinking of the Victoria Derby 2500m for his impressive Encosta de Lago colt Tribunal who scored in decisive style at Sandown Hillside on Wednesday. At his third raceday start and stepping up to metropolitan company after an easy Sale maiden win, Tribunal settled midfield and then ripped home for a bold win over the 1500m. MP says: 'We believe he's a Derby horse and today was all about teaching him to relax and learn to compete as a racehorse as he's still a big kid really.'