British General to break Caulfield hoodoo

In form galloper British General will have to break his Caulfield hoodoo tomorrow to earn a start in the Group 1 $400,000 Sportingbet C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 9.

British General is unbeaten from his last three starts at Flemington but is yet to win at Caulfield from two attempts.

Trainer Dan O’Sullivan is keen to test British General at the highest level if he can continue on his winning way in the Listed $120,000 Swettenham Stud John Dillon Stakes (1400m).

“He’s been to Caulfield twice and failed twice,” O’Sullivan said.

“That’s probably the one negative. His three good wins in town have all been at Flemington.

“I’d just like to see him remove that mark at Caulfield.”

“I keep trying to remain realistic and don’t want to aim at a Group One, but if he keeps winning then why not.”

“In two weeks there’s the 1400-metre race at Caulfield, the C F Orr Stakes, and if he was to win on Saturday we’d probably head down that path.”

British General kicked off this current campaign with a win over 1200m at Warrnambool in a Benchmark 78 in October before finishing third at Morphettville.

O’Sullivan then brought the five year old back to Melbourne where he ran down the track at Caulfield before winning a hat track at Flemington with Glen Boss aboard, his latest leading all of the way to take out the Listed $120,000 Chester Manifold Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on January 12.

“He’s come through his recent races really well and we’ve been able to keep the same routine with him which has been good,” O’Sullivan said.

British General is a $2.70 chance to break his duck at Caulfield ahead of the Doug Harrison trained It’s Crunch Time at $6 with Dash For Viz and Le Remas sharing the next line of betting at $6.50.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.