Edward Cummings is exploring all avenues in his quest to have Duais at her best ahead of next Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup and one option is to tread a path that was a staple of his grandfather’s Cup success.
Cummings’ stable star Duais was a surprise nomination for Saturday’s $1 million Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.
Saintly was the only one of Bart Cummings’ 12 Melbourne Cup winners who did not run on Derby Day and while landscape has changed, Edward remains respectful of what has worked in the past.
The Hawkesbury trainer is tossing up whether to give the three-time Group 1 winner a strong hit out on the training track on Saturday morning or a trip to the races.
“She’d need to do something to bring her on here at home instead of a raceday experience (if we didn’t run),” Cummings said from Flemington on Tuesday morning.
“So, from that point of view, it’s more of a controlled environment but, at the same time, the pipe-opener that a run on Derby Day is has clearly proven itself as a good lead in to a Melbourne Cup.”
The Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) was once a Melbourne Cup primer, with the Bart Cummings-trained Let’s Elope and Rogan Josh among those to have won it en route Melbourne Cup success, as did Comic Court, who was trained by Bart’s father Jim.
In 2016, the Victoria Racing Club moved the Mackinnon Stakes to the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, leaving the Hotham Handicap, which this year has been rebadged the Archer Stakes, as the only Derby Day option for most Cup runners.
Cummings’ brother James is using that 2500m Group 3 race this Saturday to determine whether Alegron should press on to the $8 million Melbourne Cup (3200m).
How Duais recovers from what Cummings described as a ‘strong canter’ on the Flemington course proper at Tuesday morning’s Breakfast With The Stars will determine whether the daughter of Shamus Award takes her place on Saturday.
“She’s in the race to give us something to think about and ponder,” Cummings said of the five-year-old, who is coming off an eighth placing in the Caulfield Cup (2400m).
“It’ll depend on how she is, how she comes through this morning and whether we think it’s the right race for her in preparation for a Melbourne Cup.”
Duais was one of 32 nominations for the Empire Rose Stakes, for which boom Kiwi mare La Crique is a pronounced favourite.
