Maher and Eustace chasing Pakenham Cup win

The Ciaron Maher & David Eustace stable is undecided whether last start Cranbourne winner Mankayan will head to the Listed Pakenham Cup.

Mankayan was posted the $3.50 favourite with TAB after entries closed for the $300,000 race over 2500m on Saturday.

Final acceptances are taken on Wednesday ahead of the barrier draw.

Mankayan was successful over 2550m on November 13 in Benchmark 84 company and now has a handicap rating of 90 in Victoria.

Maher and Eustace are considering bypassing Saturday’s race in favour of one of the new Benchmark 100 races introduced by Racing Victoria over 2600m at Flemington on December 18.

“We’ll have a look at the race and make a decision,” Maher said.

“It was a bit nerve racking last time, but it was good to see him finally get there.”

Mankayan commenced his Australian campaign at Flemington in August and followed up with four successive placings before breaking through at Cranbourne.

Maher and Eustace are likely to saddle Smokin’ Romans in Saturday’s race.

Smokin’ Romans has not started since finishing second to Wentwood in the Group 3 Bendigo Cup (2400m) on October 27 which followed a second-place finish to Jericho Cup winner Wil John two weeks earlier.

Prior to that, Smokin’ Romans had strung together three wins on the trot.

“He’s been up for quite a bit of time but it’s a race we’ve had in mind for him for a while once he started getting through the grades a bit,” Maher said.

“We rolled the dice with him in the Bendigo Cup, and he was pretty close there and we felt Pakenham was a good option for him after that.”

Maher and Eustace have also nominated Dr Drill, High Emocean, Bartholomeu Dias, Chains Of Honour and Kings Charisma for Saturday’s race.

About RS NewsWire

Racing and Sports is a global publisher of online horse racing form and information, and a leader in interactive racing technology. Racing and Sports is at the cutting-edge of information technology, allowing businesses and website users first access to emerging technologies.

Bookmaker Why Bet Sign Up Full Review
Bet Now at ladbrokes Back Yourself with Ladbrokes! Join Review
Bet Now at neds Back a Winner with Neds! Join Review
Bet Now at palmerbet Sign up to Unibet and start betting in minutes! Join Review
Bet Now at tab Sign up to TAB and start betting in minutes! Join Review
Bet Now at playup Sign up to PlayUp and start betting in minutes! Join Review