Lee Freedman knows what it takes to train a Caulfield Cup winner and he would not be surprised if Our Ivanhowe delivered him a fifth win in the time-honoured event at Caulfield on Saturday.
Ben Melham has been booked to ride Our Ivanhowe in the 2015 Caulfield Cup this weekend. Photo by: Daniel Costello
Our Ivanhowe was purchased by Team Freedman at the end of last year after recording two wins at Group 1 level in Europe and he is yet to record a race win in Australia, but he produced good efforts when ninth in the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield on September 19 and second in the Group 3 The Bart Cummings (2520m) at Flemington on October 4.
Freedman admits that Our Ivanhowe has not followed a traditional path to the Caulfield Cup, but he believes that with the right luck in running the Solider Hollow entire is good enough to claim his third victory at Group 1 level.
“His record at 2400 metres is pretty exceptional,” Freedman told Racing Ahead.
“He has had a good preparation towards the race.
“The Cummings might not be considered a suitable lead-up race and probably rightly so.
“It is not weight-for-age or set weights plus penalties, but he will appreciate dropping back four kilos in weight and he will strip fitter for his run at Flemington.
“They are all the positives.
“If he has any luck in the run, which is always important in a Caulfield Cup, then I think he will run very well.
“A win wouldn’t shock me by any stretch and he would need to get the right run in the race to be right in the finish, but I would be a little disappointed if he is not one of the horses to come out with a good finish and looking forward to going ahead to Flemington.”
Our Ivanhowe was allocated barrier 17 at the 2015 Caulfield Cup barrier draw that was conducted earlier in the week, but Freedman does not believe that the wide draw will be an issue for the five-year-old.
Freedman said that Our Ivanhowe would be no chance in the Caulfield Cup if he was bundled up on the rail and he believes that horses drawn towards the outside may have an advantage over their rivals.
“I don’t think that the barrier is an issue for him,” Freedman said.
“I would much prefer to be jumping from 13 than two or three because he is a very big horse and he doesn’t need to be crammed up in a hectic race and not getting galloping room when he needs it.
“These European horses are all pretty much the same.
“I’ve had many runners in Caulfield Cup’s and it can be an issue being stuck on the inside with so many horses around you.”
Our Ivanhowe is currently available at 2015 Caulfield Cup odds of $26 to join Mannerism (1992), Paris Lane (1994), Doriemus (1995) and Mummify (2003) as Freedman-trained winners of the Caulfield Cup.
You can score the best Caulfield Cup odds for Our Ivanhowe and every other runner in the Caulfield Cup field with Ladbrokes, who are offering Best Tote or Starting Price +20% in every race at Caulfield on Saturday.
