The Caulfield Report – October 15
Torrid weather and an even field means the 145th running of the G1 Caulfield Cup shapes as one of the most open editions in years.
Rail: Out 6m
Track: Heavy 10
Weather: Saturday – Cloudy, Rain 0 mm, Chance of rain 10 per cent, Temp 18.
Umbrellas up
Melbourne’s spring downpour has left Caulfield awash this week, with Wednesday’s Thousand Guineas meeting staged in a deluge, resulting in constant downgrades and putting pressure on the track staff ahead of this meeting.
The good news is it is not likely to rain on Saturday, giving the racing surface a chance to drain and perhaps improve slightly, although at the end of a three-day carnival we can expect winners to be coming from far and wide by the last few races.
Where do you need to be?
Your guess is as good as ours. The rail goes out six metres and that area wasn’t too bad a place to be by the time the meeting on Wednesday concluded. The other option is that they come very, very wide, plotting the Veandercross route around the outside. We wait and see.
Cup of uncertainty
It’s not just the weather which makes it the hardest Caulfield Cup to predict in years. The lack of European entrants and star contenders from the domestic brigade means one of the 18 horses will get a birthday in a $5 million race. The class in the race comes from mares Duais and Montefilia, who six months ago where up with the best weight-for-age horses in the land but who have not quite bounced into the spring.
Knights Order and Numerian are both noted wet trackers, who have been in form in Sydney and travel south in good order, while Nonconformist was runner-up in this race last year.
The favourite however is down the bottom of the weights. Smokin’ Romans looks the one to beat with just 51.5kg after emerging with a win in the Turnbull Stakes, the best guide to this race in recent years.