Champion jockey Damien Oliver says that Bow Creek has that X Factor that is needed to win the Group 1 $1.5m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Bow Creek has the X Factor that will help him win the Australian Cup at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Oliver was having his first ride on the John O’Shea English import when he stumbled out the barriers in the Group 2 $200,000 Crown Golden Ale Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on February 27.
But the experience of Oliver let Bow Creek recover and them he positioned him on the fence just worse than mid field in the thirteen horse field.
Then the Oliver magic came to the fore in the straight and when the champion jockey pointed the five year old’s head towards the gaps, he took them ever so diligently and raced away to record a one and a half lengths win, his first victory on Australian soil.
Oliver has retained the mount on Bow Creek in the Australian Cup and said that X Factor he possesses will give him a great chance to win back to back races.
“He has given me the good feel that good horses give you, they pick up when you ask them and can show that acceleration at the business end of a race — it’s the X-factor that you want to have on a good horse going into a big race,” Oliver told the Herald Sun.
Oliver gain the ride on Bow Creek in the Peter Young Stakes when Ben Melham, who rode him when thirteenth in the Group 1 $500,000 Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 13, opted to ride the Lee and Anthony Freedman trained Our Ivanhowe.
“I’m not sure quite how the circumstances came about, maybe when Ben (Melham) chose to ride Our Ivanhowe instead that’s when the option came up, but I was rapt to pick up the ride,” Oliver said.
A win in the Australian Cup on Bow Creek would be some consolation for Oliver who missed out on the winning ride on Extreme Choice in the Group 1 $1.5m Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) on the same day as the Peter Young Stakes after he chose to ride Flying Artie who had to settle for second to his stablemate.
Bow Creek is a two times Group 2 winner in England and Ireland with victories in the £100,000 Celebration Mile (1 mile) at Goodwood and in the €200,000 Boomerang Mile (1 mile) at Leopardstown in 2014, but is yet to salute at Group 1 level.
Bow Creek is at the top of the Australian Cup market order at $3.20 at Ladbrokes.com.au with Our Ivanhowe on the second line of betting at $5.50.
Australian Cup market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.20 Bow Creek, $5.50 Our Ivanhowe, $6.50 Preferment, $8 Rising Romance, Suavito, $12 Fenway, $21 Happy Trails, Mourinho, Almoonqith, $26 Awesome Rock, $34 Extra Zero.
