Drop in weight to help Scherzoso’s chances in Ballarat Cup

A huge drop in weight for Scherzoso can compensate for a wide barrier and help his chances in the Listed $300,000 Ballarat Cup (2200m) at Ballarat on Saturday.

Apprentice Ben Allen will ride Scherzoso, above, in the Ballarat Cup at Ballarat. Photo by Jenny Barnes.

Apprentice Ben Allen will ride Scherzoso, above, in the Ballarat Cup at Ballarat. Photo by Jenny Barnes.

In-form apprentice Ben Allen gets the ride again on Scherzoso who is coming off a last start third under 60kg to The Chairman in an 1800m BenchMark 90 Handicap at Flemington on Crown Oaks Day.

Trainer Tony McEvoy is also keen to step the Bianconi five year old up to the 2200m of the Ballarat Cup.

“He travelled beautifully last time and came out to win but he had six kilos more than the winner and I reckon it just told on him,” McEvoy told AAP.

“He drops to the minimum in this race and goes to 2200 metres which I think is what he needs.

“I think he’s ready to take that next step.”

McEvoy has a very high opinion of talented apprentice Ben Allen and had no hesitation is keeping him on Scherzoso even though he would not be able to use his 2kg claim in the non-claiming Ballarat Cup.

“If you have a look at his last start he was riding against (Hugh) Bowman and (Kerrin) McEvoy, all the best, and from a middle gate he put him in the one-one spot,” McEvoy said.

“It was just a beautiful ride as he showed patience and poise and gave the horse every chance.

“We wouldn’t gain anything by putting anyone else on him because no-one could have ridden him better than that.”

Another strong performance by Scherzoso will see the five year old progress towards the Listed $200,000 Pakenham Cup (2500m) at Pakenham on December 3.

“There’s some nice stakes races as he’s effective on his Sydney leg too,” McEvoy said.

Scherzoso is the winner of five of his twenty-three starts with one win at 2000m in a Handicap at Caulfield on July 16 while his only attempt beyond 2000m resulted in a third in the 2400m $150,000 VOBIS Gold Stayers at Caulfield two weeks later.

In a wide open betting race the Lee and Anthony Freedman trained Cool Chap heads the market order at $7.50 for the Ballarat Cup at Ladbrokes.com.au with Scherzoso listed at $12.

The Chris Waller trained Lady Le Fay and Darren Weir’s Lidari share the second line of betting at $8 just ahead of the top weight Turnitaround at $9.50.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.