Red Excitement Scratched From Carlyon Cup

Red Excitement has been scratched from the 2015 Carlyon Cup after heavy rain in Melbourne forced the Caulfield track to be downgraded to a soft five.

Red Excitement has been removed from the Carlyon Cup field due to the wet Caulfield track. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell

Red Excitement has been removed from the Carlyon Cup field due to the wet Caulfield track. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell

Red Excitement was a clear favourite in betting markets for the Carlyon Cup, but the Excites gelding has failed to fire in his previous race starts on rain affected surfaces and trainer Gerald Ryan told Sky Racing HQ this morning that there was no point running the five-year-old on  a wet track this afternoon.

“He is going terrific, but it just worries me that it is racing here now and if you look at his form anything worse than a dead four and he is no good,” Ryan said.

“If they downgrade he won’t be going around, but he has come back well and he is going terrific.

“He appears to have settled in well and I am really happy with him and if the weather picks up a bit I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes it six in a row.”

Red Excitement took out the Gardenia Handicap (1400m), February Handicap (1400m) and Eatability Handicap (1600m) at the end of his autumn campaign last year, but he suffered a minor tendon injury that kept him away from the races for almost 12 months.

The Excites gelding returned to racing with a narrow victory over Burbero and You’ll Never in the Drummond Golf Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on December 20 and he overcame a tough run in transit to take out the Listed Chester Manifold Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on January 17.

Ryan believes that Red Excitement is capable of taking the step-up to the highest level of racing during the 2015 Autumn Racing Carnival and he has been included in the nominations for the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) and the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m).

The scratching of Red Excitement has changed the Carlyon Cup betting market significantly and the in-form Jacquinot Bay ($4.60) is now a narrow favourite from Spurtonic ($5) and Akzar ($5) with Ladbrokes Australia.

Jacquinot Bay returned to winning form when he took out the Listed Master Yearlings Heat 2 Stakes (1600m) at Sandown on Boxing Day and he recorded an impressive win in the Comedy King Handicap (1600m) at Flemington on January 10 before he scored a tough victory in the Summer Championship Final (1600m) at Sandown last weekend.

There has also been support for Akzar and the veteran stayer is chasing his first race win since he took out the Listed Warrnambool Cup (2350m) in May last year.

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.