Could Coolibah make the jump overseas?
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD sensational Coolibah could be headed across the Tasman after the horse’s owner-trainer Lesley Munro declared she may be interested in a Victorian jumps campaign.
Munro has already tasted success in Australia after the Cambridge trainer took gun runner Lucky Tonight for a successful campaign in Australia, and the trainer is not ruling out a similar pathway for the unbeaten over hurdles Coolibah.
āHe would be ideally suited to steeplechasing in Australia and thatās still a possibility,ā Munro said.
The trainer said she will consult the horse’s regular hoop Shaun Phelan for his hands-on expertise.
āIāll wait and see how he goes at his next start, wherever that may be ā I havenāt quite decided yet. Iāve been talking about things with Shaun as well.ā
Phelan, who two winters ago rode Coolibah to win races over the smaller fences at Hastings and at Te Rapa before they claimed the Sydenham Hurdles at Riccarton, could potentially provide an insight that the trainer has overlooked.
Coolibah was given last winter off and he has placed twice on the flat during his current preparation. The latest of them was in Rating 85 company at Ruakaka on Saturday.
āIt was a great run and he always goes well there,ā Munro said.
āHe should really be back jumping now, but the tracks have been so heavy.”
Munro is undecided on what the immediate future holds for the gelding, but believes there are plenty of options around.
āIām in a bit of a quandary of what to do now. He could go back to Ruakaka for another flat race, but that would have to be in an open handicap or it will be a jumping race.ā