Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford is hoping Racing Victoria Chief Handicapper Greg Carpenter will take note of Royal Empire's encouraging victory at Newbury. Such was the relish with which the Teofilo colt saw out the 2671 metres of the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes, Crisford immediately announced intentions to run in the $2.5 million Group 1 BMW Caulfield Cup en route to the Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup as his prime target, reports Racing Victoria.

 
 

Royal Empire is one of the lesser-known members among the older brigade of Saeed Bin Suroor's stable, competing in minor British races last season before a stint at the Dubai Carnival where he picked up a 2000-metre handicap from four appearances. Improved when landing a Listed race at the same distance on his British comeback, Royal Empire faced a variety of useful gallopers for this Group 3 prize.
 
Keeping in the middle of the pack, Kieren Fallon summoned a fine burst of speed from his mount approaching the 200 and he maintained the momentum all the way to the line to finish a length and a half up.
 
Running by far his finest race of the British season after thoroughly respectable efforts in Dubai and Japan earlier on was the 2011 Cup runner-up Red Cadeaux, who stayed on around the outside of the field under Gerald Mosse to grab second. The veteran has now booked his ticket for a third voyage to Australia.
 
Godolphin have had three seconds in the Spring Racing Carnival show-stopper through Crime Scene (2009), Give The Slip (2001) and Central Park (1999) and Crisford said: "I'm very pleased, and we'll just have to hope he goes up a few pounds so he qualifies for the Emirates Melbourne Cup. "He won this off 112 and it's difficult to get in to the Melbourne Cup off less that 115. Hopefully the handicapper will take the view that he has a few pounds in hand.
 
"He'll have a couple more runs before then, but I'm not sure where. After that, he'll start quarantine on October 6, with a couple of weeks in England and a couple of weeks in Australia."
 
Fallon added: "He travelled really well for me - he really picked up when I asked him. This fellow has got a lot of improvement in him and he can go on from here. He'll be a much better on horse on better ground."
 
Representing Red Cadeaux's trainer Ed Dunlop was his assistant George Peckham, who felt the rain-softened conditions had offered some assistance. "It's great to see him back to his best and the weight just beat him," Peckham said. "He had been disappointing a few times this season and we wanted to run him on some good ground. The plan is to go into quarantine and start off in the Caulfield Cup."
 
The Geoffrey Freer was won last year by Mount Athos on his final start before his fifth at Flemington. Royal Empire's Godolphin stable companion Lost In The Moment, who has twice been a visitor to Australia but missed the cut for the Cup last year, picked up third. 
 
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