Goodwood Cup quinella Cavalryman and Ahzeemah set for Melbourne Cup

Last night’s Goodwood Cup quinella Cavalryman and Ahzeemah look certain to travel to Melbourne for the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 4.

Cavalryman finished 12th to Green Moon, above, in the 2012 Melbourne Cup.

Cavalryman finished 12th to Green Moon, above, in the 2012 Melbourne Cup. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.

The Godolphin pair cleared out over the final stages of the Group 2 £100,000 Artemis Goodwood Cup (2 miles) at Goodwood in England to fight out the finish with Cavalryman gaining victory by a neck over Ahzeemah with the Tom Dascombe trained Brown Panther four and a half lengths away in third spot.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor is now keen to prepare both stayers for the Melbourne Cup and will be hoping for a better result after the in-form Cavalryman finished twelfth to Green Moon in the 2012 Cup.

Bin Suroor has picked out the   Group 2 £150,000 Lonsdale Cup (2 mile, 88 yards) at York at the end of August as Cavalryman’s next outing which will help finalise a Melbourne Cup trip.

“He can go for the Lonsdale Cup now and then we’ll talk to Sheikh Mohammed about going to the Melbourne Cup. Ahzeemah could also go for the Melbourne Cup. I would like to take three,” Bin Suroor told the Racingpost.com.

“He is a very easy horse to train, I think a mile and six or two miles are the best trips for him.”

Winning jockey Kieren Fallon was quick to praise the win of Cavalryman after holding off the late finish of stablemate Ahzeemah.

“He’s a real tough horse,” Fallon said.

“He was campaigned successfully in Dubai all winter and the Goodwood Cup is really a difficult race to win. He has gone from strength to strength.

“The pace wasn’t great but it was okay so I was happy to sit in as this horse has a great turn of foot.”

The widely travelled Cavalryman made it two wins on the trot after taking out the Group 2 £100,000 Princess Of Wales’s Boylesport.com Stakes (1 mile, 4 furlongs) at Newmarket on July 10.

The eight year old stayer had previously campaigned in Dubai and came away with a win in the Group 3 US$200,000 Nad Al Sheba Trophy (2810m) on March 1 and a second in the Group 2 US$1m Dubai Gold Cup (3200m) on March 29 at Meydan.

Her Majesty The Queen’s horse Estimate was sent out the 2-1 favourite for the Goodwood Cup but was the first horse to fade when the pressure was applied as the field entered the home straight and failed to beat a runner home in the eight horse field and a Melbourne Cup trip now looks doubtful.

Following the Goodwood Cup result, Cavalryman and Ahzeemah have firmed into $26 each for the Melbourne Cup with Ladbrokes.com.au who have the Gai Waterhouse trained The Offer heading the betting at $13 ahead of another English trained stayer Telescope at $17.

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.