Osborne Bulls gets Everest start
Osborne Bulls (Street Cry {Ire}) has gained a start in the $13 million The TAB Everest after stablemate Home Of The Brave (GB) (Starspangledbanner) was withdrawn.
Osborne Bulls, a winner of eight of his 12 starts, was last seen when fifth in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S. at Caulfield in late September. He was due to run in the G2 Gilgai S, at Flemington but was scratched from that race.
Home Of The Brave was set to run in the ATC slot vacated by Nature Strip (Nicconi) but was ruled out after an elevated temperature.
Trainer James Cummings reported to Racing NSW stewards that Home Of The Brave had a mild temperature on Monday which his team monitored and his temperature spiked again on Tuesday morning.
A blood test by Racing's NSW's vet Dr Toby Koenig revealed the abnormalities and the gelding was scratched from the $13 million race.
Sun given Caulfield test
Jockey James McDonald was thrilled with how The Autumn Sun (Redoute's Choice) handled Caulfield at the colt's last major hit-out before Saturday's G1 Caulfield Guineas.
Caulfield can be a notoriously tricky course for horses who haven't done a lot of racing the left-handed way and trainer Chris Waller took him to the track to familiarise him on Tuesday morning.
McDonald, who flew down to ride the G1 Golden Rose S. winner, was suitably impressed with what he saw.
"He was very balanced around the bend, which is pretty important," he told Racing.com.
"I know galloping trackwork is different to race pressure but I was pretty happy with the way he got around the bend. His leads were really good and he finished off his work really nice. I couldn't be more pleased really."
The Autumn Sun drew perfectly in barrier 5 for the $2 million race. Waller said he is expecting the colt to handle the occasion perfectly.
"He's a very professional horse - I think that's one of his biggest attributes. He's such a relaxed (horse) and professional. He doesn't have any distractions and for that reason, he's a pretty straightforward sort of horse," he said.
Grunt's spring change
Mick Price conceded that dual Group 1 winner Grunt (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}) is not mature enough to contest the G1 Cox Plate, but may still be headed for the G1 Cantala S.
Grunt disappointed when well-beaten in the G1 Turnbull S. and Price sent him for x-rays to determine if there was any reason he was racing below par.
"We x-rayed him on Monday morning and while the x-rays are clear, there are signs of immaturity there," Price told Racing.com. "(There's) just a little bit of inflammation and a little change in one knee in particular."
That means plans for the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup are firmly off the agenda as Price will look to reset with the 4-year-old.
The trainer believes the longer-term future of Grunt is more important.
"He's an immature, rangy, New Zealand four-year-old entire and if we treat him properly we will get rewarded and that might be the Australian Cup or Queen Elizabeth and those sort of races in the autumn," he said.
Grunt is already a dual Group 1 winner over the 1600m at Flemington and Price said a race like the Cantala could still come into consideration this spring,
Rain a worry for U S Navy Flag
The Sydney weather remains the biggest concern for Coolmore ahead of U S Navy Flag's (USA) (War Front {USA}) tilt at The TAB Everest on Saturday.
Coolmore Australia principal Tom Magnier said that while the 4-year-old was adapting to the softer conditions at Canterbury, additional rain would not be welcomed.
“He appeared to handle the ground a lot better today than he did last time he galloped on it,” Magnier said.
“We’re very happy with how he worked this morning. The rain could be a problem for us. If there’s more rain I’m going to be worried about it."
“If it’s like the ground he worked on this morning I’ll be happy with it.”
The forecast for Sydney for the rest of the week is for showers almost every day but significant rain is unlikely.
Saturday is predicted to be 21 degrees with a 70% chance of rain.
New plans for Our Abbadean
Consistent mare Our Abbadean (NZ) (Looking At Lucky {USA}) is being freshened up for a shot at the G1 Captain Cook Stakes at Trentham in December.
Having run third in the G1 Tarzino Trophy and then fifth in the G1 Windsor Park Plate and G1 Livamol Classic, Our Abbadean will be given a let-up according to trainer Jamie Richards.
"She has gone back to Wentwood Grange to freshen up and when she comes back into work she’ll be set for the Captain Cook Stakes fresh-up then we’ll look at the Zabeel Classic (Gr.1, 2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day,” Richards said.
“She was a victim of a bad barrier last Saturday and had to go back instead of being midfield."
“If she could have settled midfield I’m sure she would have been a lot closer at the finish. She still went a good race.”
The dual Group 2 winner has had seven wins in a 27-start career.
