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| Red Lord earns Caulfield Cup start with Naturalism Stakes win |
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The Anthony Cummings-trained Red Lord has bolted into Caulfield Cup calculations after coming from the clouds to win the Group III Naturalism Stakes (2000m).
Red Lord put the writing on the wall with a solid effort behind Speed Gifted at Flemington on September 5, the softer track combined with the step up to 2000 metres proving to be in the gelding’s favour.
The son of Redoute’s Choice had a good run back in the field for most of the race before being shunted back to last just before the home turn but jockey Damien Oliver refused to panic.
“You don’t win races on the home turn,” he said. “Only where they are at the post matters so I wasn’t too concerned.”
Oliver decided to stick to the inside, forcing a passage at the 300 metres before Red Lord accelerated strongly to reel in the leaders, winning by a long neck.
“He’s another one which just needs a little bit of cut in the track,” Cummings’ stable foreman Graeme Woolston said. “He’s just blossomed since he’s been down in Melbourne and he really deserved that win.”
Red Lord’s Naturalism Stakes win was his first victory in over a year but Woolston believes the six-year-old has plenty more wins in store.
“He’s in all of the big races,” Woolston
said. “He’ll definitely go into the Caulfield Cup now he’s guaranteed a start and he’s got to be a live hope with no weight.”
Red Lord will carry 51kg in October’s Caulfield Cup, Oliver giving him a chance of winning the $2.5 million event if he can run out the 2400 metres of the race.
“The Caulfield Cup is a pressure 2400-metre race,” Oliver said. “But he’s got no weight and if he copes with the trip, he’s go to be a chance.”
Sunday, 20 September 2009 |
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