Potential Caulfield Cup topweight Fawkner Park will commence his campaign aimed at the Group 1 handicap in a weight-for-age contest on Saturday.
The Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald-trained galloper runs in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield where he will be joined by stablemate Bois D’Argent.
Only two horses – Without A Fight and Via Sistina – are weighted above Fawkner Park in the Caulfield Cup, and if they do not take up the challenge in the Group 1 handicap over 2400m on October 19, Fawkner Park will wear the number one saddlecloth.
Fawkner Park earned his start in the Caulfield Cup via his win in the Q22 Stakes at Eagle Farm in June, the same race Without A Fight won last year on his way to winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup double.
Neasham worked backwards from Saturday’s race after winning in Brisbane to plan Fawkner Park’s preparation and said everything had gone smoothly.
The gelding was dispatched to the training partner’s Pakenham stable around four weeks ago to get used to working left-handed, and Fawkner Park has made a couple of trips to Caulfield for a look at the track.
“He had one run at Flemington last prep, but he layed-in the whole way,” Neasham said.
“He pulled-up with a little bit of a muscle problem that day, but he’s been fine in all his gallops here this time.
“He’s been down here three or four weeks now and has had a couple of looks at Caulfield, once in a jump-out, and he had a look around Geelong as well.
“He’s getting on his right leg and he’s not laying-in, but race day pressure is a different matter, however you normally get some inclination from their work if they’re not going to handle the different way of going, but he’s not giving us any signs.”
Neasham is expecting a forward run from Fawkner Park but admits he will gain improvement from the run with the hope the gelding is peaking on Caulfield Cup Day.
“He’s a winning chance, but there are a few other horses going well,” Neasham said.
“His stablemate Bois D’Argent is also going to be first-up, and he’s another horse that holds residual fitness over from the Queensland Carnival and he always goes very well first-up, fresh.
“There’s a couple of horses, like the Godolphin horse (Pericles) that is going to have the fitness edge on some of these horses that are first-up.
“It’s going to be a great race, and I think 1800 (metres) is spot on for both horses first-up.”
Neasham said Bois D’Argent had trialled up well in preparation for his return run and had a gallop at Caulfield on Tuesday morning.
She said Bois D’Argent was an adaptable galloper, suited on any track condition.
“He ran fourth in the Caulfield Cup last year. He’s an older horse with plenty of miles on the clock,” Neasham said.
“He knows where he’s going. He goes left or right and goes on hard or wet and he’s a great horse to have in the stable.”
