Caulfield Cup distance OK for Trip To Paris

The 2400m of Saturday’s Caulfield Cup is well within the winning range of tough English stayer Trip To Paris.

Tommy Berry, above, has been booked to ride Trip To Paris in the Caulfield Cup at Caulfield. Photo by Daniel Costello.

Tommy Berry, above, has been booked to ride Trip To Paris in the Caulfield Cup at Caulfield. Photo by Daniel Costello.

Travelling foreman Robin Trevor-Jones for the Ed Dunlop stable rated Trip To Paris better that a $26 chance for the Group 1 $3m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield.

Trip To Paris has won twice over 2400m but most racing pundits expect him to be at his best over the 3200m of the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3.

“This horse won at 1400m as a two-year-old, we’ve asked him to run a mile and a half (2400m) once this year, which he won, and then, obviously, everybody has seen we stepped him up (in distance),” Trevor-Jones told the Herald Sun.

“I don’t take any notice of the market. If they want to be that big ($26) — they’ve always been big with stablemate Red Cadeaux — I’ll have a little flutter myself, definitely.”

If you like Trip To Paris as your Caulfield Cup pick, you can get over the odds by taking advantage of Ladbrokes Caulfield Cup Day Special Offer of Best Tote or SP + 20% on every race at Caulfield this Saturday up to a maximum bet of $50.

Trip To Paris was racing in outstanding form during the English Spring with a win over 2414m at Lingfield on April 11 the first of a winning hat trick for the five year old stayer.

Dunlop then stepped him up in distance for wins over 3219m at Ripon on April 25 and over 3755m at Chester on May 6.

But Trip To Paris proved to be the superior stayer, helped by a dashing ride from Graham Lee, in the Group 1 £400,000 Gold Cup (2 mile 4 furlong or 4023m) at Royal Ascot on June 18.

Trip To Paris has drawn near the inside and is likely to jump from barrier four if all the emergencies fail to gain a start in the eighteen horse field and Trevor-Jones expects Tommy Berry to settle him just behind the pace.

“I’d like him just in behind the leaders, fifth or sixth, something like that, and just ride a normal race on him,” Trevor-Jones said.

Trevor-Jones has plenty of respect for rival English stayer Snow Sky and rates the Sir Michael Stoute galloper as one of the hardest to beat

“His style of racing, the way he won at Ascot, he made the running, controlled the race himself and then sprinted away from them and was very impressive,” Trevor-Jones said.

“He’s good, obviously he’s good.”

Snow Sky was winner three starts back in the Group 2 £150,000 Yorkshire Cup (1 mile, six furlongs or 2816m) at York on May 15 and followed that up with a win at Royal Ascot in the Group 2 £200,000 Hardwicke Stakes (1 mile 4 furlongs or 2414m) at Royal Ascot on June 20.

Snow Sky is rated an $11 chance for the Caulfield Cup with Ladbrokes.com.au and is on the fifth line of betting behind Mongolian Khan at $4.60, Hauraki at $9, Set Square at $9.50, and Fame Game at $10.

Ladbrokes are also offering a great deal for punters having a bet early in the day on Caulfield Cup Day. If your first fixed odds win bet in races 1 – 5 wins, your will get 50% extra on your winnings on your first winner up to a maximum bet of $50.

Caulfield Cup market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $4.60 Mongolian Khan, $9 Hauraki, $9.50 Set Square, $10 Fame Game, $11 Snow Sky, Rising Romance, $13 Complacent, $15 Hokko Brave, $17 Gust Of Wind, Magic Hurricane, $21 Royal Descent, $26 Volkstok’N’Barrell, Our Ivanhowe, Who Shot Thebarman, Trip To Paris, $31 Lucia Valentina, $41 Grand Marshall, Protectionist, $51 Dibayani, Magnapal, Quest For More, $126 Magicool.

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.