Preparations take another step up for the Victoria Cup tomorrow evening at Bendigo.
The Group 1 VHRC Caduceus Classic has brought together a field of high-quality aspirants for the $300,000 prize pool on offer come October 9, which is rapidly approaching.
Adding to the narrative of $100,000 pacing feature tomorrow evening is the avalanche of money that has flowed for excitement machine GENERAL DODGE. Punters have come for him in droves, pushing from an opening TAB price of $5.00, right down to $2.10 and now clear favouritism.
The injury-plagued now rising 10-year-old has dazzled in 14 career victories from just 19 attempts, with the most recent of those wins coming back in the Golden Reign Free For All at Melton in May.
His preparatory trial in late August was scintillating where he roared away from the likes of OUT TO PLAY and WOLF STRIDE, who he will meet again on Saturday night with a barrier draw advantage.
Whilst his changeup speed is obviously devastating, his gate speed also assisted him in finding prominent positions in his two victories last preparation. With MAX DELIGHT drawn to his inside, as well the likes of WESTERN SONADOR who displayed better early hustle last week, where does General Dodge land?
Max Delight returns from a successful Sydney campaign where he has been exposed to hardened mile racing of late, including a winning 1:50min performance.
A co-feature at the elite level of Group 1 status on Bendigo’s card is the Opus Group Australasian Trotting Championship, under standing start conditions over the 2650m trip.
With a maximum capacity field of 12, only RED HOT TOOTH and MAJESTUOSO will have 10m handicaps with the rest off the front. This being said, there will be a second line of ‘front markers’ due to a maximum capacity of seven on the tape, which is important to note.
Majestuoso had his dazzling turn of foot on full display last week when dealing with his rivals with relative ease at Geelong, although it would appear he will have to come around the entirety of the field if he is to go back-to-back in this event.
The standing start element throws in further unknowns, where several runners are facing the tapes for the first time under race conditions. COVER OF DARKNESS is one of those having a standing start debut, and with the brilliant four-year-old proving quirky on occasion, it will be interesting how he deals with the new experience.
There will be plenty of eyes on several other runners in undercard events, including the returning ACT NOW, MAJOR MOTH, BONDI LOCKDOWN and JOANNA.
Gareth Hall will lead the Sky Racing Active coverage for Bendigo’s stellar card alongside the Trots Vision team.
The Victoria Cup on October 9 is sneaking up rapidly, and with only four weeks until that Grand Circuit feature, here is the planned routes for some of the major players:
KING OF SWING will be the main contender for the Cobbitty Equine team, with a trial on September 22 his first public appearance this time in, giving him two and a half weeks until his rapid-fire trip south. It is important to note that EXPENSIVE EGO will be staying home to target the Len Smith Mile and Inter Dominion and will not be a Victoria Cup starter.
Another representative from the team for the Victorian carnival will be BETTOR ENFORCE, who is set to trial next week before she targets the Queen Of The Pacific. Expect to see the likes of CASH N FLOW, STAR GALLERIA, ALTA ORLANDO, SPIRIT OF ST LOUIS and MUSCLE FACTORY all back to the races in the coming weeks also.
The path for the local contingent looks similar for many at the top end of the TAB market.
Safely through tomorrow night's Caduceus Classic, WOLF STRIDE, WESTERN SONADOR and TRIPLE EIGHT will go to the Kilmore Cup on September 24, whilst the Smoken Up Sprint the week after also looks possible for several.
After the freshen-up post her dominant Queensland winter, expect to AMAZING DREAM back at the trials in the next few weeks. She is likely to race the week before the main event in the Smoken Up Sprint as her lone lead-up run.
Another horse you won’t see in the Victoria Cup is KOWALSKI ANALYSIS, who won't quite be ready after a frustrating northern campaign.
BEST of the weekend – R1 N2 Bitcoin @ Albion Park Saturday
VALUE of the weekend – R6 N1 Maori Law @ Bendigo Saturday
Brittany Graham is a regular host on Sky Racing and the Sky Racing Active app, plus In The Gig with Ben Way and Gareth Hall every Tuesday night on Sky Racing 2 from 6pm.
The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.