Destiny’s Kiss On Trial For Brisbane Cup In Scone Cup

Trainer Joseph Pride will give Destiny’s Kiss the opportunity to prove that he is capable of handling a trip to Queensland for the 2014 Brisbane Cup when he contests the Scone Cup on Friday.

Destiny's Kiss will be chasing his second win at Listed level in the 2014 Scone Cup tomorrow.

Destiny's Kiss will be chasing his second win at Listed level in the 2014 Scone Cup tomorrow. Photo by: Steve Hart

Destiny’s Kiss has raced exclusively in Sydney or Gosford since he finished a disappointing fifth behind Mr O’Ceirin in the Listed Grafton Cup (2350m) on July 11 last year; with Pride blaming the poor way that Destiny’s Kiss travelled to Grafton for the lackluster performance.

Pride is hoping that Destiny’s Kiss can overcome his travelling woes when he heads to Scone for the $200,000 Scone Cup on Friday and will consider a tilt at the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm on June 7, if the Power Of Destiny gelding performs well tomorrow.

“The Grafton trip was tacked on to the end of a long preparation and he didn’t handle it,” Pride told AAP.

“I think Scone will be different.

“He’s only had a couple of runs so it’s the ideal time to try him away from home.

We will test the waters for the Brisbane Cup.”

Destiny’s Kiss started his 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival campaign with a solid fifth behind Weary and Leebaz in the Group 3 Doncaster Prelude (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens on April 5 and recorded his first win since July last year when he took out the Dunkirk Handicap (1600m) at Warwick Farm on April 25 from Wistful and Vilanova.

The Scone Cup has drawn a strong group of acceptances and Destiny’s Kiss will have to be at his best to record since his second win at Listed level after taking out the Winter Cup (2400m) at Rosehill Gardens last year.

Destiny’s Kiss defeated Wistful in the Dunkirk Handicap, but the talented Darley-owned mare stamped herself as a leading Scone Cup contender with an impressive second behind Leebaz in the Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) on May 3.

Team Hawkes-trained Mecir has also been well-backed in 2014 Scone Cup betting markets, despite being beaten by six and a half lengths in the Group 3 Victoria Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield on April 19, while Prince Cheri is the wildcard of the race and will be dropping back in class after failing to fire in both the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) and Group 3 Sky High Stakes (1900m) during his 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival campaign.

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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.