Melbourne Cup runner Tres Blue has all the credentials to figure in the finish next Tuesday at Flemington with Cup jockey Tommy Berry giving the French import the thumbs up after track work yesterday morning.
Tommy Berry will ride French Import Tres Blue in the Melbourne Cup. Photo by Taron Clarke.
Berry said that Tres Blue’s ability to put himself in a forward position will be a big advantage in the twenty-four horse Group 1 $6.2m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m).
“I have watched all of his races and he seems like a real professional”, Berry told Racing Victoria news.
“He bounces out of the gates and puts himself in the first four positions every time. He has great tactical speed and switches off at the right time, which is the most important thing.
“He has taken narrow gaps in his runs and has done everything right so far.
Berry was very impressed with the newly acquired Gai Waterhouse import Tres Blue who is being trained by the masterful Randwick trainer at the Werribee International Horse Centre.
Berry travelled to Werribee on Tuesday morning to get a feel of the four year old and liked what he saw.
“He was trotting and dancing around a little bit together with a couple of nice canters,” said Berry.
“He is a very clean winded horse – that’s what I like about him.”
Berry is looking to Tres Blue’s most recent runs in Europe and expects him to be a live chance in 2013 Melbourne Cup if he runs up to his wins at his last two starts.
Tres Blue won the Group 3 €80,000 Osaf Prix De Reux (2500m) on August 4 then scored again in the Group 2 €200,000 Lucien Barriere Grand Prix De Deauville (2500m) on August 25, both at Deauville in France.
Tres Blue also ran second in the Group 1 €500,000 Sparda Deutsches Derby (2400m) at Hamburg in Germany on July 7 so his staying credentials have been consistent this year.
“He’s won a Group 2 and a Group 3 race over there (France) and good form has come out of those races so leading into the Melbourne Cup I couldn’t be happier with the way his form is,” Berry said.
While Waterhouse has spent plenty of time at Werribee supervising Tres Blue’s preparation with long steady work to teach him to settle better, Berry has found it hard to fault his work.
“If you watch him work he is pretty ‘la de da’ around the track but once he gets to the 600-mark on each lap he grabs the bit and tows you around to the winning post,” Berry said.
“He knows when it’s game on and he showed me today that he is a focused colt with all the right attributes.”
Berry had his first taste of riding in the Melbourne Cup last year when he finished sixth on Glencadam Gold and is hoping that he can share his first Cup winner with Waterhouse who has been in the runner up stall on three occasions with Te Akau Nick (1993), Nothin’ Leica Dane (1995) and Fiorente last year.
Tres Blue is currently rated a $19 chance in the 2013 Melbourne Cup market order which has stablemate Fiorente the $6.50 favourite ahead of the Luca Cumani trained Mount Athos at $8 with Caulfield Cup runner up Dandino and French stayer Verema at $12.
