Bulls stayer Trav will vie for a hotly-contested automatic spot into next month’s A$10 million Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at The Valley on Friday night in the Gr.2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m).
After winning the Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m) in autumn, his trainer Raymond Connors made the time-honoured feature a long-term goal, having two starts on home soil this spring before heading across the Tasman.
Trav and regular rider Masa Hashizume finished 11th of 16 in the Gr.3 The Bart Cummings (2500m) in their Australian debut earlier this month, and while Connors had hoped for a slightly better result, he was not too deterred with the effort.
“He went well after the line, obviously I would’ve liked to see him go a bit better, but I think it was a pass mark,” he said. “I’m hoping he’s improved since then, Masa was happy enough with him and he’s the type of horse where the further, the better.
“I think we’ll get a good line on him tomorrow night, there was no reason not to carry on after that run anyway. Hopefully he can run well and put ourselves in the picture (for the Melbourne Cup).”
Connors had tossed up whether to run at The Valley or head south to Geelong on Wednesday for the Gr.3 Geelong Cup (2400m), his call proving to be a blessing in disguise after that meeting was postponed due to severe winds.
“Either race was going to be hard, but it’s not far to travel (to The Valley) and there is more of a likelihood of a better track, which he prefers,” he said.
“Those were the two main reasons, he was probably better off in the handicaps in the Geelong Cup so hopefully I’ve made the right decision. It looked like the right call yesterday, at least we didn’t have to go through that ordeal.”
Trav appeared for a track gallop at The Valley’s ‘Breakfast with the Best’ on Tuesday morning and Connors was pleased with his progress, having settled in well to life away from his typical country environment in the Central Districts.
“He’s handled it pretty well, he’s started to do a lot better over the last week or so and his coat is looking good,” Connors said.
“He’s not the easiest horse to work, but he’s getting there. I don’t think there’s any excuses tomorrow so hopefully he gets around there well.”