Geelong Cup form shines in Prince Of Penzance Plate
CHRIS Waller opted to run European import Kinema in the Prince Of Penzance Plate instead of the Melbourne Cup this year, and we will never know what would have happened, but the six-year-old did show what the international runners are capable of.
The son of Galileo was pulled back from the wide draw and due to the hot pace up front, jockey Ryan Moore was able to get a comfortable run before searching for room heading into the straight. There some concerns for punters which backed it in from $10 to $6.50 at CrownBet, but Moore showed his class and it sprinted well late.
“It’s nice of Chris and his people to give me a look at the track, and give me a nice ride before the big one,” Moore said. “It worked out well, they went hard and I sat off the speed. Just got stuck behind a wall at the top of the straight but I managed to pull out.”
Waller wasn’t sure Kinema was up to running in the Melbourne Cup at its second run in Australia. It finished fourth in the Geelong Cup behind Qewy and that form was nicely franked at Flemington on Tuesday.
The champion Sydney trainer will likely target the 2017 Sydney Cup with a possibility of running in the Melbourne Cup if everything pans out next year.
“He was a borderline Melbourne Cup horse, but we said his rating isn’t where it needs to be to have a fair dinkum crack at the Cup,” Waller said.
“It’s (Sydney Cup) a little bit easier than the Melbourne Cup.”
Waller was full of praise for the way it was able to gather in the field after being last when turning for home, but he paid credit to having a jockey like Moore in the saddle.
“It’s not an easy barrier and he’s not an easy horse to ride, but he’s won like this in England and he was just left alone early, fortunately there was plenty of pace on,” Waller said.
“It did suit the back markers because that’s the risk to win, but it’s a privilege to use good Australian jockeys, but when you get the international jockeys like Ryan Moore, it just adds to my job.
“I get to work with good horses, good owners, good jockeys from around the world, around Australia, it’s a big piece of satisfaction.”
The well-backed Firenze was only nabbed late on the line with the Chris Waller-trained and $101 chance Four Carat battling on well for third.