Cummings Delighted With The Peak Ahead Of Manifold Stakes

Former Hong Kong galloper The Peak finished 2013 with his maiden race win in Australia and co-trainer James Cummings could not be happier with the five-year-old heading into the Listed Chester Manifold Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday.

The Peak is chasing his second straight win in the Chester Manifold Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.

The Peak is chasing his second straight win in the Chester Manifold Stakes at Flemington on Saturday. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia

The Peak has improved at his of his race starts since returning to racing in Australia during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival and finished a narrow second in the Great Strides Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield before breaking through with a strong win in the Johnstaff Projects Handicap (1410m) at Flemington on December 14.

Cummings told Racing Ahead this morning that he has been delighted with The Peak and said that he is heading into the Chester Manifold Stakes in excellent condition after impressing in a jump out last Friday.

“We are really happy with him,” Cummings said.

“I just got off the phone with Reg (Fleming) an hour ago and we were pleased with the light hit out he had this morning.

“We elected to give him a jump out on Friday morning to keep him up to the mark and he followed around a couple of really smart horses and got to the line well.

“The way he hit the line in the last 150 and 200 metres was really pleasing and I think he is going to go into the race on the back of a win, full of confidence and feeling really good about himself.”

The Peak has performed fairly in two starts at Listed level, finishing seventh in both the Testa Rossa Stakes (1200m) and MSS Security Sprint (1200m), and Cummings believes that the Pendragon gelding is good enough to win at Group level.

Cummings said that The Peak proved his quality with his last-start victory and revealed that members of his team are confident that the progressive galloper has the talent to compete at Group 1 level in the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) during the 2014 Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.

“We think that he really has something and he won an $100,000 open race the other day,” Cummings said.

“You are going to get horses with good quality racing for that sort of money and he put paid to them.

“This is the first time that he showed he could win beyond 1200 metres and he could possibly win over even further.

“There are a few in the camp that weren’t too afraid to mention that he could be a light-weight type of Stradbroke horse.

“It has been done before and I guess we will see how he measures up in this company but I could not be happier with him.”

Cummings and his famous grandfather Bart are searching for their first win in 2014 after they had no luck at Flemington or Royal Randwick on New Year’s Day.

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.