Fiorente will make his first public racetrack appearance since his memorable triumph in the 2013 Melbourne Cup (3200m) when he gallops between races at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
The 2014 Melbourne Festival Of Racing preparations for Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente will be stepped up when he has an exhibition gallop between races at Royal Randwick on Saturday. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
The imported stayer was included in the acceptances for the open barrier trial over 1200 metres at Randwick this morning, but trainer Gai Waterhouse elected to save Fiorente for an exhibition galloper because the barrier trial was not taking place on the course proper.
Fiorente is set to return to racing in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 22 and will also contest the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 8 during the 2014 Melbourne Festival Of Racing.
The Monsun entire will then return to New South Wales for the 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival, where he will be set for the $4 million Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) that will be run as part of The Championships on April 19.
Another Waterhouse-trained horse that is set to gallop between races at Royal Randwick on Saturday is Divine Calling, who stamped himself as a three-year-old to watch during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival.
Divine Calling started his spring campaign with an unlucky fifth behind Fast ‘N’ Rocking in the Group 3 McNeil Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on August 31 before recording an impressive win in the Vitale And Sons Handicap (1500m) at Moonee Valley on September 14.
The Stratum gelding made it two wins in a row when he survived a protest to narrowly defeat subsequent Cox Plate winner Shamus Award in the Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley on September 27 and worked home strongly to finish second behind Long John in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 12.
Waterhouse elected to drop Divine Calling back down in distance for the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day, but the three-year-old never looked comfortable and finished tenth behind Zoustar.
The leading trainer is yet to outline a 2014 Autumn Racing Carnival path for Divine Calling, but the talented gelding could be set for races like the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington on March 1 or the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) on March 15.
Team Cummings-trained Eurozone will also run between races at Randwick this weekend.
