Scottish confirmed for Caulfield Cup
SCOTTISH has been confirmed to run in the 2016 Caulfield Cup after winning the Group 3 Strensall Stakes at York overnight.
The Charlie Appleby-trained four-year-old produced a classy staying effort to win by 1.25 lengths over Yorker and Custom Cut.
Appleby confirmed the Godolphin-owned stayer will be heading to Melbourne where it’s currently a $41 chance at Sportsbet.com.au.
“He came out of his Haydock run well and the form had been franked by the winner in France,” Appleby said.
“We told William (Buick, jockey) to be positive because with the strong tail-wind he’d be hard to peg back.
“He won’t get into the Cox Plate this year so we’ll look at the Caulfield Cup.
“He’s only been beaten twice over a mile and a half (2400m) when he’s got his ground and one of those was by Highland Reel.”
Highland Reel finished third in the 2015 Cox Plate behind champion Winx and it has had a successful season since which included wins in the Group 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington and the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained horse is currently on the second line of betting at $17 for the Cox Plate where Winx dominates at $2.25 following its Warwick Stakes victory on Saturday.