2016 Caulfield Cup international runners analysis, form and odds
THERE are four top-class international entries seeking victory in the $3 million Group 1 Caulfield Cup this Saturday.
Scottish, Articus, Sir Issac Newton and Exospheric (known as Exosphere in Europe) will be out to upset the local hopes at Caulfield and all four runners have been well-backed in the betting market.
International runners have had great recent success in the Caulfield Cup with the likes of Mongolian Khan, Admire Rakti and Dunaden winning in the last four years.
The major international stables like to target the Caulfield Cup with Godolphin, 2014 Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Andreas Wohler and Aidan O’Brian all among the entries.
Place your Caulfield Cup bet with CrownBet for the best final field odds available.
Scottish – $8
Godolphin is represented by current second favourite Scottish ($8) which comes into this race having won its last start at York. The four-year-old is a winner of four races from 10 starts and its trainer Charlie Appleby is confident of a top effort in the Caulfield Cup.
“James Ferguson (assistant trainer), who flew down with the horses, is happy the way they have travelled,” Appleby told the Godolphin website. “They have settled in well at the quarantine centre and they are all eating and drinking.
“I spoke to Kerrin (McEvoy) after he had ridden Scottish and he seemed delighted with him. He said he seemed fresh and well. He has one more gallop to go. We’ll put one more serious piece of work into him, on Tuesday, which was always the plan. Mikey Ennis, his regular rider, will be aboard. I am happy with the way things have gone so far.”
Scottish is currently an $8 chance with Sportsbet, but its record over 2400m is concerning. The son of Teofilo has had three starts over this distance for two placings and one unplaced effort. Its most recent run came over a mile so it’s better suited to the Caulfield Cup as opposed to the Melbourne Cup, but treat wearily considering those stats.
Exospheric – $11
Exospheric (known as Exosphere in Europe) was trained by Sir Michael Stoute in Europe, but will be trained by Lee and Anthony Freedman in Australia.
The four-year-old hasn’t won at its last three starts which included a fifth-place finish behind Postponed at York, but its most recent win came over 2400m which makes it a winning chance in the Caulfield Cup.
Since then it has placed behind Melbourne Cup hopeful Big Orange at Newmarket and four-time Caulfield Cup-winning jockey Damien Oliver believes it can win.
“He’s certainly got the form to win it and I’m pleased with his fitness,” Oliver said. “I think horses like him and Sir Isaac Newton, there’s been little between them throughout their careers and I think he’s come with an excellent chance.
“He felt good (in Tuesday’s work), he switched on working with another horse today. He was a bit lazy and a bit laid back the first time I rode him so I was more pleased today after working with a partner. He’s a bit of a quirky horse, he’s not quite straight forward but I’m sure come race day we’ll see the best of him.”
Exospheric is currently at double figure odds at Sportsbet and co-trainer Lee Freedman said the form out of the Juddmonte International Stakes has done well in the past at Caulfield.
“He’s a good strong 2400 metre horse and his run in the Juddmonte which I think Criterion ran in last year was very similar to Criterion’s and we saw what he did when he got back here,” Freedman said.
“He’s got form all around these other horses, he’s got form around Scottish, he’s got form around Sir Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac Newton probably only beat him a head in the Juddmonte so there’s not a lot between these horses and it’s just a matter of who gets there and gets around Caulfield all right.”
Sir Isaac Newton – $10
Aidan O’Brien hasn’t had the success in Australia that most would have expected, but he’s coming off training the Prix d’Arc trifecta and he is well-represented with Sir Isaac Newton in the Caulfield Cup.
Stable representative TJ Comerford travelled with Sir Isaac Newton who states that the son of Galileo adapted well to Australian conditions.
“He’s settled in well now and he’s good. He’s very good, he travelled lovely, he only lost five kilos coming out here and he put that back on in a day, he’s in good order, he’s doing everything right, in the same order he would be back home,” Comerford said.
Running around Caulfield can be tricky for even local runners, but Sir Isaac Newton has never raced on a multiple-turn track, but Comerford isn’t expressing any concern.
“We don’t gallop around bends as much because we gallop in a straight line and then when they work around one bend, it’s a sweeping bend, so it’s different for them,” he said. “It’s amazing from a few days settling into Werribee he handles it so well now. He knows when to change his legs and lead on the right leg. He sees the bend coming up and he changes, it’s good practice for him and it’s ideal.”
Articus – $9
Andreas Wohler knows what it takes to win in Australia and he returns with Articus in the Caulfield Cup. The French-bred five-year-old has won four career starts and it wasn’t far away from the winner at Group one level last start.
Wohler, who trained Protectionist to win the 2014 Melbourne Cup, believes Articus is in peak condition for the run on Saturday.
“He’s settled in really well, I couldn’t be happier with him. He looks pretty fit and did most of his work at home and in England. He seems to be in great condition, looks very bright and is happy,” Wohler said.
“We think we have this horse in peak condition and he seems to be thriving. We want to try him (over 2400m) at Caulfield, we wouldn’t do that at Flemington. That’s what I believe you need, especially on that type of track which will help him a lot.”
$9 is available for Articus at CrownBet and after receiving only 53kg in the weights, it looms as a strong winning hope.