Trainer John O’Shea is expecting a better performance from English import Arab Dawn when he steps up to a more suitable distance in the 2400m Group 1 $1.5m The BMW at Rosehill on Saturday.
Arab Dawn will appreciate the step up to 2400m of The BMW at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Arab Dawn is a winner over 2414m at Ascot in England and O’Shea is willing to overlook the grey’s last start failure as favourite when fourth to Hippopus in the Listed $200,000 Canberra Cup (2000m) at Canberra on March 6.
“He got a bit cluttered up in a leader dominated race at Canberra and I think he was probably looking for more ground,” O’Shea said.
“Everything he’s done since has been good and the extra 400m here will suit him. If he comes through it as I expect him to we’ll probably go to the G1 Sydney Cup in a couple of weeks.”
The 3200m Group 1 $2m Schweppes Sydney Cup will be run at Randwick on April 9, the second day of ‘The Championships’.
Arab Dawn has three runs under the care off O’Shea since being transferred from Godolphin’s English stable to their Australian operation.
The grey gelding didn’t show much at his first Australian start when eighth of nine in a 1600m Handicap at Randwick on February 6 but then came out and won the Listed $125,000 Pacific Hoists Parramatta Cup (1900m) at Rosehill two weeks later.
James McDonald rode Arab Dawn in the Canberra Cup and will be aboard him again in The BMW and is most likely to take up his usual position in the second half of the field from the outside barrier in the ten horse BMW field.
In early BMW betting at Ladbrokes.com.au, Arab Dawn has been marked as one of the outsiders off the field at $26 alongside of the Chris Waller trained import Storm The Stars.
Australian Cup winner Preferment heads the market order at $3.20 ahead off German import Our Ivanhowe at $4.40 and 2015 Caulfield Cup winner Mongolian Khan at $5.
The BMW market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.20 Preferment, $4.40 Our Ivanhowe, $5 Mongolian Khan, $8.50 Rising Romance, $9.50 Who Shot Thebarman, $11 Montaigne, $14 Almoonqith, $21 Grand Marshall, $26 Storm The Stars, Arab Dawn.
