Evacuation to head to Caulfield Guineas

Lightly raced three year old Evacuation will be targeted towards the Group 1 $1m BECK Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 11 after scoring an impressive win at Rosehill last Saturday.

Divine Prophet, above, heads the market order for the Caulfield Guineas at Caulfield. Photo by Steve Hart.

Divine Prophet, above, heads the market order for the Caulfield Guineas at Caulfield. Photo by Steve Hart.

Evacuation was only having his second race start and kept his winning record intact with a two and three quarter lengths win in a 1400m BenchMark 70 Handicap on a heavy 8 track after scoring on debut in a 1000m Kembla Grange two year old handicap on April 16.

Trainer Adrian Bott, who trains in partnership with Gai Waterhouse, said that the stable had always held a high opinion of Evacuation and they will now pursue a path heading towards the Caulfield Guineas.

“We’ve always thought he’d be a lovely miler in time,’’ Bott said.

“We kicked him off over the 1400m, which was the most suitable option for him. He should relish every bit of the mile.

“The Caulfield Guineas has always been earmarked for him just with the timing and everything — we don’t want to rush him to the Golden Rose.”

Naturally Bott thinks that there is still plenty of improvement in Evacuation if he is to take the step up to Group 1 company but he said that they weren’t going to rush him into running in the Group 1 $1m De Bortoli Wines Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill on September 10 even though he was rated a $10 chance with Ladbrokes.com.au.

“Naturally our horses are very fit going to the races so there was plenty of foundation there but there’s still some improvement to come,’ Bott said.

“He was almost like the big boy in the playground but when he got serious he was very strong late. He will definitely get further, he will run a mile (1600m) easily.’’

Evacuation is also rated as one of the main chances in the Caulfield Guineas is on the third line of betting at $10 behind the Team Hawkes trained Divine Prophet at $8 and the Kiwi Group 1 winning Sacred Elixir at $9.

Divine Prophet was very impressive in scoring a first up win from last on the turn in the Group 3 $125,000 Up and Coming Stakes (1300m) at Randwick on August 22 while Sacred Elixir will kick off his three year old season in the Group 3 $175,000 Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield on September 24 before heading to the Caulfield Guineas.

Early market order for Caulfield Guineas: $8 Divine Prophet, $9 Sacred Elixir, $10 Evacuation, $13 Astern, $15 Impending, Omei Sword, Star Turn, $17 Capitalist, Prized Icon, Russian Revolution, Derryn, $21 El Divino, Throssell, Highland Beat, Ken’s Dream, $26 Mediterranean, Revolving Door, Wazzenme.

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.