Goldman back on cups trail after not going the distance in spring
By Chris Roots
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott believe giving one-time Melbourne Cup favourite Goldman a longer break after a disappointing spring will pay off in the Gosford Cup at Newcastle and the Brisbane winter carnival.
Former Kiwi stayer Goldman was an early favourite for last year’s Melbourne Cup after he won his first three starts in Australia, going from a Kembla Grange benchmark 64 to winning the Roy Higgins Quality at Flemington in a devastating front-running display that left Soulcombe in his wake.
Goldman scores an easy win over Soulcombe in the Roy Higgins at Flemington last year. Credit: Racing Photos
Soulcombe went on to run an unlucky second in the Melbourne Cup to Without A Fight, but Goldman was in a paddock on the first Tuesday in November after a dismal four-run spring campaign.
“We got him to the grand final and won the Roy Higgins in his first preparation, but he just didn’t come up at all in the spring on the short turnaround, so we just decided to start again,” Bott said.
“In hindsight, we were just on the back foot in the spring, so we elected to skip the autumn. We just wanted to get him right and back to the form of that first preparation.”
Goldman is another New Zealand stayer identified by Tulloch Lodge as a potential topliner and gave signs he was back to the stayer of last year when he returned with a second to Huetor in the group 3 JRA Cup (2000m) on the final day of the Randwick carnival.
He steps out to 2200m at Newcastle on Saturday, which should suit him better with the benefit of the run under his belt, and it is a stepping stone to better races in Brisbane.
“We have focused on the back end of the autumn and mainly the winter with him, and I think that call has done him the world of good,” he said.
“We will see what Saturday brings, but he could be a Brisbane Cup horse, or run in a Doomben Cup or Q22, but it’s still very much one run at a time to decide what is best for him.
“We also have to measure how far we want to go into the winter because potentially we could try and aim up at the spring again.
“He is in really good shape. We have got him exactly where we want him to be, so we will see what he can do on Saturday.”
Goldman is the $3 favourite for the Gosford Cup and could emulate the feats of Numerian from two years ago, when he was runner-up in the JRA Plate and then won the Gosford Cup and Q22.
Tulloch Lodge will also start imported stayer Sir Lucan in the Gosford Cup. He is a $15 chance and will be aimed at the winter cups circuit around Sydney.
“He was found to be a bit flat-footed under a big weight first up, but he has definitely stepped off that run,” Bott said. “He will look towards the McKell Cup and races like that around here.
“If he improves sharply, he does have the option of going to Brisbane as well.”
The Tulloch Lodge team for the Brisbane carnival could include two-year-old Sovereign Hill, which has been frustrating for the stable since winning an early juvenile race in October last year.
The Written Tycoon colt was rated up with the best of the Tulloch Lodge team of two-year-olds, which has won 28 juvenile races so far this season. He is back with the Sires Produce Stakes and JJ Atkins the focus, and starts his campaign over 1200m at Newcastle.
“He has come back in on a few occasions [since the spring] and went shin sore a couple of times, so we had to bide our time with him,” Bott said. “He’s been frustrating because he’s shown ability and was out early and was Golden Gift favourite after that first win.
“Then he came back and was favoured for a race in the lead-up to the Inglis Millennium.
“It has been stop-start with him but he is here now, and if he can go up there and win those races up in Queensland it will still be a good season.
“He is certainly talented and he gets his chance to show it now.”
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