The 2015 Caulfield Cup second acceptances have been released and English stayer Snow Sky is now set to contest the Group 1 event at Caulfield on October 17.
Damien Oliver has been booked to ride Snow Sky in the 2015 Caulfield Cup. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell
Snow Sky was originally set not to have another race start before the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3, but connections have changed their plans and he is now set to run in the Caulfield Cup with leading jockey Damien Oliver in the saddle.
The Naeyf entire made his debut at the highest level of racing in just his fourth race start in the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy (1609m) at Doncaster in October of 2013 and since that time he has been a consistent performer at the highest level of racing.
Snow Sky took out the Group 3 Gordon Stakes (2414m) and was placed in both the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes (2414m) and Group 1 Ladbrokes St Leger Stakes (2937m) as a three-year-old before he took out both the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup (2816m) and Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes (2414m) earlier this year.
He failed to fire when sixth behind Postponed in the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2414m) at Ascot on July 25, but trainer Sir Michael Stoute blamed the poor effort on the soft track and he believes that the firm tracks in Australia will be perfect for the Northern Hemisphere four-year-old.
Protectionist is the other top weight in the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup winner has been included in the Caulfield Cup second acceptances.
Connections have indicated in the past week that Protectionist would take his place in the Caulfield Cup field and they have been happy with the performances of the Monsun entire in both the Group 2 Tramway Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on September 5 and the Group 1 George Main Stakes (1600m) at the same venue two weeks later.
Japanese stayers Fame Game and Hokko Brave both arrived in Australian on Saturday night and they have been included in the Caulfield Cup second acceptances, while Willie Mullins-trained Max Dynamite, Ascot Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris and Roger Charlton-trained Quest For More are the other international stayers that remain in Caulfield Cup contention.
Leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller is still chasing his first victory in the Caulfield Cup and he is set to have plenty of chances in the 2015 edition of the race after he included Royal Descent, Preferment, Who Shot Thebarman, Grand Marshal, Foreteller, Beaten Up, Weary, Flamingo Star, Junoob, Hawkspur, Opinion, Sadler’s Lake and Silverball in the second acceptances.
Rising Romance finished second behind Admire Rakti in the Caulfield Cup last year and she remains on track to contest the race for the second year in a row, while third placegetter Lucia Valentina could also head towards the Group 1 event.
Other notable horses in the 2015 Caulfield Cup second acceptances include Naturalism Stakes winner Magnapal, Australian Derby winner Mongolian Khan, imported stayer Our Ivanhowe, Godolphin-owned Hartnell, Australian Oaks winner Gust Of Wind, Tony McEvoy-trained Alpine Eagle and the consistent Dibayani.
