Melbourne Cup hopeful Maluckyday is likely to go into the big race via the Geelong Cup after failing to make the field for Saturday’s Caulfield Cup.
The 2010 Melbourne Cup runner-up has been on the comeback trail this spring and co-trainer Michael Hawkes sais the gelding cannot be faulted heading towards his major spring target.
Maluckyday was among the nominations for the Listed City Tattersalls Club Cup (2400m) at Randwick on Saturday, a race he won two years ago on his way to the Melbourne Cup.
But he would have carried 60.5kg and Hawkes said that wasn’t enough to entice the team to bring him back from Melbourne to Sydney.
“Weight sort of stopped him there unfortunately,” Hawkes said.
“Obviously had he got in with a bit lighter weight we would have brought him up and it probably would have been a good drawcard for the club.
“Unfortunately the handicappers didn’t see it that way. He misses out on a Caulfield Cup berth so he’ll probably run in the Geelong Cup now.”
The Geelong Cup has provided the past two Melbourne Cup winners with French horses Americain and Dunaden both claiming the double.
Hawkes said it would have been nice to have run him in the Caulfield Cup but it wasn’t to be.
“He’s ticking over nicely. Just purring,” Hawkes said.
“He’s guaranteed a start (in the Melbourne Cup) so he just has to keep ticking over.”