Fame Game has drifted out to 2015 Caulfield Cup odds of $11 and trainer Yoshitada Munakata admits that he has some concerns about the Japanese stayer ahead of the Group 1 event at Caulfield on Saturday.
Zac Purton has been booked to partner Fame Game in the 2015 Caulfield Cup this weekend. Photo by: Daniel Costello
Fame Game has been rated a leading contender for the Caulfield Cup since connections confirmed that he would make the trip to Australia for the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival and the son of Heart’s Cry was as short as $8 earlier in the week, but there has been very little support in betting since jockey Zac Purton revealed on Monday that the talented galloper may be too dour for the Caulfield Cup and will be better suited in the 2015 Melbourne Cup.
Munakata told Racing.com that the 2400 metres of the Caulfield Cup is clearly short of Fame Game’s best and he admits that he is worried the five-year-old has not had a race start since he finished a fast-finishing second behind Gold Ship in the Group 1 Tenno Sho (3200m) at Kyoto on May 3.
“It has been a bit of time since his last run and that is a bit of a concern of cause,” Munakata said thro
“It is too short for him and the longer is the better, but the Caulfield Cup is 2400 metres and we can’t really change it.
“We will just have to do our best over this distance.
“I’m sure he will do his best and should run well.”
While Munakata is concerned about the conditions of the Caulfield Cup, he is happy with the condition of Fame Game ahead of the $3.15 million event.
Fame Game completed his final serious piece of track work before the Caulfield Cup this morning and Munakata said that he was happy with the way that the Group 1 placegetter hit the line.
“Since it was his last gallop before the Caulfield Cup we did a reasonably strong gallop,” Munakata said.
“We did work over five furlongs, he ran home and it was a nice gallop.”
Fame Game is chasing his first race win since he took out the Group 3 The Diamond Stakes (3400m) at Tokyo on February 21 and he will be dropping back in trip for the first time since he finished seventh in the Group 2 The American Jockey Club Cup (2200m) at Nakayama on January 25.
Fame Game is currently available at 2015 Caulfield Cup odds of $11 and he is on the fourth line of betting behind Mongolian Khan ($4.60), Hauraki ($9) and Set Square ($9).
