Maldivian set to show he's the best of the bunch
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday October 1, 2009
TRAINER trainer Mark Kavanagh says the quality of horses at this season's Melbourne Spring Carnival could be the best ever."I think it's the strongest carnival we have ever seen. It's an absolutely vintage year and anybody that wins a race will be doing well," he said. "It's right across the board, the handicappers are coming on really well, there were group-1 winners balloted out of the Underwood and on Saturday the Gilgai looks just as strong as [last week's] Manikato Stakes."The Turnbull Stakes field of 16 runners includes two Melbourne Cup winners, two Cox Plate winners, a Caulfield Cup winner and two derby winners.With his Cox Plate favourite Whobegotyou not racing this weekend, Kavanagh will be represented in the Turnbull Stakes by last year's Cox Plate winner Maldivian, who ran a much improved race second-up and he is expecting an even better run from him on Saturday."We have had a few issues with him but I think we have him back to where he was last year," he said."He is really going along well. He is not far away and I think Saturday will bring him to his peak."With stable jockey Michael Rodd suspended, Maldivian will be ridden on Saturday by Craig Williams.However, Rodd confirmed that he would ride Maldivian through the rest of the spring in preference to Whobegotyou, although he said it was not an easy decision."It was tough. I mean Whobegotyou is the $3 favourite for the Cox Plate but Maldivian is flying and I'm very happy to be on him," Rodd said.Damien Oliver is on Caulfield Cup favourite Vigor in the Turnbull but Williams will take over in the cup on October 17 as the horse has just 51 kilograms and Oliver is unable to make the weight."Fifty-one kilograms was always going to be a bridge too far for Damien and in looking for a replacement we wanted a natural lightweight, and with Craig the current champion jockey, he's a pretty good replacement," said Vigor's trainer Danny O'Brien.With Vigor's Makybe Diva Stakes win guaranteeing him a run in the Caulfield Cup, O'Brien has been able to prepare the horse free of any worries about qualifying but he obviously wants to see another good run on Saturday."It [the Turnbull] is a real crossroads race for the spring," O'Brien said. "It's 2000 metres at Flemington. There is nowhere to hide and you get a good look at each other."If you run well you can be confident going forward to the big ones but if you don't it's too late to turn things around."Apart from Vigor, O'Brien also has 2007 Caulfield Cup winner Master O'Reilly running in the Turnbull, with cup-winning jockey Vlad Duric being reunited with the seven-year-old gelding.O'Brien said both horses were in good order going into Saturday's race and he was confident Vigor could turn around his unlucky last-start sixth in the Underwood, when it struck interference near the 200m."He's a Flemington horse," he said. "He's had six runs there for five wins and second. It's his first time at group-1 level but he just loves it there. From an inside draw he should be up in a forward position and I expect him to get the run of the race and be hard to beat."THE TURNBULL MARKET$4.25 Vigor$5.50 Maldivian,Predatory Pricer$10 RedRuler$11 El Segundo,Roman Emperor$14 Master O€™Reilly$17 Red Lord$21 Efficient$31 Zipping, C€™est la Guerre,Zagreb$41 Viewed$61 Scenic Shot, Baughurst$126 Joe BlowSupplied by Centrebet
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
