Jockey Damian Browne will be looking for some early speed from his rivals in a bid to help his mount Cape Kidnappers overcome a wide barrier in the Group 3 $200,000 Channel Seven George Moore Stakes (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Cape Kidnappers has drawn wide in the George Moore Stakes at Doomben. Photo by Daniel Costello.
The Kelly Schweida trained sprinter has drawn barrier ten in the twelve horse field but with speed horses Adebisi and Rocky King drawn inside him, Browne is anticipating the field could spread out and allow him to find a spot close to the fence.
“There looks a lot of speed, so hopefully that splits them up and I can get in four or five pairs back,” Browne told The Courier-Mail.
Cape Kidnappers is having his first run since pulling up lame after running second to George Moore Stakes rival Big Memory in the Group 3 $175,000 W.J. Healy Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm during the Brisbane Winter Carnival.
Schweida thought it was a reoccurrence of a serious sesamoid injury Cape Kidnappers suffered back in 2012 that keep him away from the race track for over twelve months, but that wasn’t the case.
“We originally thought he had cracked his sesamoid again, but X-rays showed it was fine,” Schweida said.
“We gave him two months off before he came back and did four or five weeks on the treadmill.”
Browne was aboard Cape Kidnippers in the W.J. Healy Stakes as well as his two previous runs which resulted with wins in the Listed $80,000 Sita Australia Chief De Beers Handicap (1110m) at Doomben and the Listed $100,000 Evergreen Turf Lightning Handicap (1000m) at Eagle Farm and has also partnered him in two jump outs in the lead up to his return to the racetrack.
“His first jump out was very soft and we didn’t do much on him at all. I gave him more of a test the second time around and he felt good. He had certainly come on from the first one,” Browne said.
And even though the Group 1 winning jockey is pleased with the progress of the seven year old, barrier ten in the twelve horse field does cause him some concern first up.
Cape Kidnappers had a good first up record with four wins and a second from six attempts but that wasn’t the case at the start of his last preparation when the Commands gelding finished seventh in the Listed $80,000 Yellowglen Bribie Handicap (1110m) at Doomben on May 10.
“Going back to last preparation, first-up was his worst run,” Browne said.
“He took a lot of improvement out of that and I’m sure that’s going to be the case again.”
Sunshine Coast sprinter Rocky King and the Desleigh Forster trained Adebisi are set to clash again after running the quinella in a 1000m Handicap at Caloundra on November 14.
And the Liam Birchley trained Time To Plunder is also racing in winning form with a last start victory in the Listed $100,000 Brisclean Keith Noud Handicap (1200m) at Doomben on November 22.
