Normally a Melbourne Cup runner pulling a shoe off in the lead-up to the race would have the stable in a mild state of panic.
Not so for Robin Trevor-Jones who sees it as a sign three-time Cup runner-up Red Cadeaux is feeling well and stretching out.
So when the horse lost his near fore shoe in a 2000m-gallop at Werribee on Sunday, trainer Ed Dunlop’s assistant took it in his stride.
“It’s nothing new, just a pain in the backside as he’s galloped on it with no shoe or no pad,” Trevor-Jones said.
“It will be a bit tender, but we know what to do and we can get him through it.”
Trevor-Jones said Red Cadeaux had also pulled a shoe off four days before running second to Criterion in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney in April and had done likewise leading into the Melbourne Cup on previous trips to Australia.
“If he’s feeling good, his back is good, he reaches too far and he catches under those pads,” Trevor-Jones said.
“But he has to have those pads on because he’s got big flat feet.”
Trevor-Jones said Red Cadeaux and stablemate Trip To Paris would both have their final pieces of solid work for the Melbourne Cup on Thursday and that evening Red Cadeaux would be fitted with his aluminium racing plates.
Red Cadeaux is hovering around his racing weight of 498kg and Trevor-Jones is confident he’ll reach that for the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday week.
Runner-up to Mongolian Khan in the Caulfield Cup, Trip To Paris is also close to his racing weight of 461kg.
Trevor-Jones said Trip To Paris was fit and well and could “run again tomorrow” but just needed a a solid hit-out before the Melbourne Cup.
Stablemate Manndawi, third behind Almoonqith in the Geelong Cup, is expected to contest the Queen’s Cup on the final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival.
