2005 May | Australia Melbourne Cup and Racing News

Wearing special shoes designed to protect the heel, the five-year-old Carnegie gelding dashed clear, scoring his first group win in an injury-plagued career in 2:15.04 for the 2,200 meters (10.93 furlongs) on a good course.

His career record is now seven wins from eleven career starts.

Platinum Scissors came in trailing the victor by a length-and-a-quarter, and a head in front of third place finisher Natural Blitz.

Perlin, who is out of My Midnight Madam by Kaapstad, and trained by Graeme Rogerson in Melbourne for Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Williams, wore blinkers for the event. Jockey Danny Nikolic said post-race that he was relaxed, and gave him a nice ride.

Perlin has previously spent a year side-lined for a leg injury. Williams now plans to spell his comeback gelding after four wins from five starts in preparation for the his next aim - the Caulfield Cup in the southern spring.

It will be the first metropolitan start for Valkyrie Diva, after making an impressive debut last December, starting an odds-on favourite when she powered to a two-length win in a 1200m Maiden at Cranbourne.

Like Makybe Diva, Valkyrie Diva is out of Tugela. While her famous sibling is by Desert King, the younger racehorse is by Jade Robbery.

Freedman has indicated he will accept a place in the 1400m fillies race to be run on the Hillside circuit on Thursday morning, provided he is satisfied with her trackwork this week.

Valkyrie Diva, in fine form and showing no extra condition, returned to the racetrack eight days ago at Mornington and scored by two lengths in a 1200m Class 1 Handicap.

Meanwhile her famous sister has just been released from two weeks in quarantine following her return from an unsuccessful campaign in Japan.

Firn tracks were blamed for Makybe’s lackluster performances in April’s Nakayama Stakes, and the Tenno Sho at Kyoto this month. She will now take a spell and Freedman will monitor her progress before returning her to training for the upcoming spring.

Freedman is keen for Makybe Diva’s goal to be the $3 million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in October, but admits she is physically and mentally exhausted, light on condition, and in need of a break.

The Cox Plate is also the target for Mummify. The last start winner of the Singapore International has taken up Makybe’s spot in quarantine, to be released next Friday.

The Malaysian business tycoon and quiet owner, or part owner, of some of Australia’s most successful race horses, Dato Tan Chin Nam will contest this year’s Melbourne Cup with the already qualified Accumulate, providing he take a few further victories to move up the weight scale. His trainer Bart Cummings, a master at qualifying Melbourne Cup runners, is already underway with his plan to return the gelding to racing after a period of spell.

Dato Tan Chin Nam, has been winning races in Australia for a long time, winning the 1975 South Australian Derby with Prince Of All, and the first of three Melbourne Cups with Think Big in 1974. Think Big, trained by Bart Cummings and ridden by Harry White, won again in 1975.

And Dato Tan Chin Nam has much more to look forward to over the coming weeks and months.

The black and white checks have been carried to victory a number of times over previous months in preparation for the Brisbane winter. Heading to the Conrad Treaury Brisbane Cup will be promising stayer Danasri, after an impressive win at Rosehill on Saturday. Kamsky (Generous) managed a solid third in the SAJC Derby a fortnight ago. Cup hopeful Accumulate ran to a strong win at the Group III VRC St Leger at Flemington on Anzac Day.

Other winning investments for Chin Nam include the consistent Roadhog, Cresta Run, Mi Casa, and Extract all regular placers.

Interest was created in Guy Walter-trained Zingam at the weekend with Saturday’s win of the Group III Chairman’s Handicap at Doomben. The stayer, winner of the listed Lord Mayors Cup at Rosehill before his Chairman’s victory, will miss the Doomben Cup and follow the traditional lead up to the Brisbane Cup, running in the Group II WFA PJ O’Shea Stakes at Eagle Farm on June 4th, 2005.

Dato Tan Chin Nam’s partnership with long-time friend, business partner and breeding colleague Ananda Krishnan, fellow owner of Zingam, have resulted in over 200 wins in Australia, with overseas wins featuring the Tunku Gold Cup in Singapore with Glide Away and the Hong Kong Bowl with Catalan Opening.

Dato Tan Chin Nam is looking forward to many more.

After retiring his stable star Regimental Gal earlier this week, Brisbane trainer Shaun Dwyer is looking to the future.

Regimental Gal is Dwyer’s only Group 1 winner to date, and was retired after contesting the Doomben Cup 10,000. Dwyer is now focusing his talents on Gal’s stable mate and top stayer Pacific Dancer.

The galloper is being prepared for this Saturday’s Doomben Cup, and Dwyer is hopeful of an start in this year’s Melbourne Cup. Dancer contested the Cup last year on the back of an impressive win in the Grafton Cup.

Dwyer has indicated he will be spelled after this weekend’s effort.

“Some of the owners are talking about the O’Shea [Stakes] next week but I’m only talking about the paddock.”

“I’m not interested in running again this campaign. He hasn’t been trained for two miles [3200 metres], so we won’t be running in the Brisbane Cup and there is only one two-mile race I want to be running him in and that comes up in November.”

The Doomben Cup also features Perlin, and a number of other horses expected to rise to Group 1 level after competing in only restricted company before now.

Demerger will join stablemate and Goodwood Handicap winner Glamour Puss in the paddock on an agistment property at Leopold, outside Geelong. O’brien cited his interest in the Melbourne spring over the Brisbane winter as the major factor in his decision.

“Both horses gave a peak performance in Adelaide and it’s hard to keep them up once that happens, particularly a two-miler like Demerger. We’ll aim her at the Melbourne Cup and work towards the Moonee Valley Cup as a final lead-up”.

After developing a taste for that winning feeling in SA, O’Brien is sending another of his charges, the lightly-raced Road to Damascus, to Adelaide for the Cheltenham meeting this weekend. More ventures to the southern state may follow.

Preparations for next the Brisbane Cup next month continue unabated however for SA trainer Tony McEvoy and Yvonne, his only runner in Queensland. She’ll contest the $90,000 Dane Ripper Quality (1300 m) at Eagle Farm on June 4 in the lead up to her primary mission, the $400,000 Winter Stakes, at the same venue, on June 25. Yvonne managed a close third, in the Pink Diamond Stakes, from three runs at Adelaide.

Trainer Richard Jolly will run Shablec, who ran third in the Goodwood Handicap, this weekend in the $125,000 Darley BTC Sprint (1350m) at Doomben, in the hope the four-year old gains a start at Stradbroke next month.

In his first race since finishing second to Makybe Diva in last years Melbourne Cup, Vinnie Roe was always travelling smoothly as his stable companion Mutakarrim set the pace in the 14-furlong listed contest.

Pat Smullen on Vinnie Roe moved up to challenge the leader at the quarter mile pole, and quickened at a good pace to win by a length and a half from Mutakarrim and third placed Mkuzi.

Hard surface conditions had perturbed the Roe camp, but after a walk of the course, the fortuitous decision to let him run was made. Weld cited he was keen to get Roe out for the track time in preparation for the Gold Cup at Ascot.

Roe was beaten at the Gold Cup as a four-year old, after a brilliant ride by Johnny Murtagh on Royal Rebel, and Weld expressed his desire to ‘have another crack at it’.

Weld added: “It’s his last year racing, He’s been a wonderful horse to train and he deserves to win a Gold Cup”.

The Royal Ascot at York begins it’s annual carnival, including the Gold Cup event, on the 14 June.

The winning combination of Weld and Smullen have completed their treble of 25-1 wins with Hidden Charm (5-1) in the Irish Stallions Farms European Breeders Fund Median Auction Maiden, and Sapphire Stone (6-4 joint favourite) in the Irish Stallions Farms European Breeders Fund Median Maiden.