BTC Cup winner Your Song has recovered nicely from his scintillating win in the heavy conditions at Eagle Farm last week and is on track for the Group 1 $650,000 Carlton Mid Doomben 10,000 (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Your Song takes out the BTC Cup in the mud at Eagle Farm. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Trainer Anthony Cummings has reported that Your Song is ready to add another Group 1 victory to his resume after blowing away a field of smart sprinters on a heavy track in the Group 1 $400,000 Bundaberg Distilling Co. BTC Cup (1200m).
“I don’t think it’s taken anything out of him,” Cummings said.
“Just his demeanour, his weight, it’s like the race never happened.”
And Cummings says that there is a very real possibility that the Fastnet Rock colt could win another two Group 1 races before he begins his stud duties this season at Widden Stud in the Widden Valley.
“From the first day he came I said that he was a Group 1 horse, but it’s taken a little bit longer to prove it than I expected to but very pleased to have got the job done,” Cummings said.
“If he can be just as good on top of the ground, with that same sort of dominance, he’s obviously the one they all have to beat. He’s going to be one hell of a target.”
Your Song will take on a similar field this weekend in the weight for age Doomben 10,000 before making his final race track appearance in the Group 1 $1.36m AAMI Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm two weeks later.
The BTC Cup was expected to be a two horse race between top local sprinter Buffering and Sydney speedster Rain Affair, but Cummings’ three year old was able to make then look second rate in the quagmire conditions scoring by a massive five lengths margin.
Head Darley trainer Peter Snowden says that his three year old Epaulette could add some fresh legs to the Doomben 10,000 and questions the ability of several runners to recover from the tough run at Eagle Farm.
“Epaulette has been freshened after the All Aged Stakes, and he’s had a trial at Rosehill. I didn’t want to run him in the BTC Cup and give him too many runs. He goes well fresh. It’s worked for him before,” Snowden said.
“I ran Rarefied in that race, he’s an old campaigner, and even an old horse like him took four or five days to get over it.”
“That type of track you really handle or you go terribly on. There’s no in-between. Rarefied was a really fit horse, but he was still knocked around.”
Your Song is the $2.80 favourite for the Doomben 10,000 and is also the top pick in the Stradbroke Handicap markets at $4.20.
Buffering is the $4 second favourite for Saturday and connections will be hoping for a good track to give him every chance of breaking through for his maiden Group 1 win.
Epaulette is next in the betting at $6 just ahead of Rain Affair at $7.50 with local three year Better Than Ready at $10 after running a solid third to Your Song.
