Godolpin are eyeing a tilt at the 2014 Melbourne Cup with Cavalryman after he talented stayer scored an impressive win over a quality field in the Group 2 Princess Of Wales’s Stakes (2414m) at Newmarket last night.
Cavalryman finished 12th behind Green Moon in the 2012 edition of the Melbourne Cup. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Cavalryman was forced to take up the running in the early stages of the race and made sure that the race was run at a steady pace before jockey Silvestre De Sousa asked the Halling entire for an extra effort at the 400 metre mark.
Hillstar loomed as the danger, but Cavalryman was able to pull clear in the final stages of the race to record his first win at Group 2 level since he took out the 2009 edition of the Qatar Prix Niel.
Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor was thrilled with the performance of Cavalryman and confirmed that the veteran stayer would have his next race start in the Group 2 Goodwood Cup (3219m) at the end of July before potentially beginning preparations for the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 4.
“This horse runs well fresh and was a little keen in the race; Silvestre did not want to fight him so just gave him his head and he has finished the race well,” Bin Suroor said after the race.
“We will take him next to the Goodwood Cup and then think about taking him to Australia for the Melbourne Cup.
“He went two years ago and finished 12th, but I think he is a better horse now and you can see from his form that he is late maturing.
“I think we will try and take two or three horses down to Melbourne this year and he will be one of them.
“The best trip for him is a mile and six furlongs or even two miles, but he is a tough horse and he won a Group One over a mile and a half in France.
“He can go on any ground and has won on good to soft before and on fast ground in Dubai.
“I think the easing ground helped him more than it did the other horses today.”
Cavalryman was partnered by Frankie Dettori in the 2012 edition of the Melbourne Cup, but he was never able to get into the race after being settled towards the tail of the field and he could finish no better than 12th behind Green Moon.
Cavalryman is currently available at 2014 Melbourne Cup odds of $34 in the betting markets with Ladbrokes Australia.
