The Offer on track for another Melbourne Cup campaign

The Gai Waterhouse trained stayer The Offer is back on track for another Melbourne Cup campaign in the upcoming 2015 Spring Carnival.

The Offer is on track for another Spring Carnival campaign. Photo by  Steve Hart.

The Offer is on track for another Spring Carnival campaign. Photo by Steve Hart.

The Offer was heading towards the 2014 Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November but his Spring Carnival had to be cut short after the Irish import finished eleventh behind Admire Rakti in the Group 1 $3m Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield.

Waterhouse was not happy with the condition of The Offer who was showing signs of lameness following that run and gave him plenty of time to get over his injuries before he headed to Queensland for one run during the Winter Carnival.

The Offer made up ground from the back to finish three lengths behind Addictive Habit in the Listed $100,000 Southbank Insurance Brokers Handicap (1800m) at the Gold Coast on June 20 and he has now returned to Tulloch Lodge in Sydney to prepare for the Spring.

The Offer worked strongly on Monday morning for work rider Jason Lee and Waterhouse posted on her website that the rising seven year stayer was in fine order and ready for another Spring Carnival campaign.

“The Offer has come through his brief QLD preparation nicely and this morning (Monday) the Group 1 winner felt “very good” in his work over 1400m according to Jason Lee,” Waterhouse posted.

“The gelding came home his last 200m in 12.7 seconds and he looks all set for a big spring.”

The Offer rose up quickly through the ranks during the 2014 Sydney Autumn Carnival with a hat trick of wins in the Group 3 Ambassador Travel N E Manion Cup (2400m) at Rosehill, the Group 2 $300,000 Schweppes Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) at Randwick and a runaway win in the Group 1 $1m Schweppes Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick.

His winning Sydney form saw the Montjeu gelding installed as the early favourite for the 2014 Melbourne Cup but he started to fade from favouritism following some indifferent Melbourne Spring form that eventually saw an early Spring exit.

The Offer is currently marked as a $34 chance with Ladbrokes.com.au for the 2015 Melbourne Cup November 3 and is at $51 for the 2015 Caulfield Cup on October 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.