Tony and Calvin McEvoy will be out in force at Rosehill on Saturday, with two stayers aimed at the spring’s premier distance race, The Metropolitan (2400m). Their hopes rest with Derby heroine Coco Sun and the fast-improving Half Yours, who is already the early market favourite for the Group 1 feature.
Fresh from Prestar’s Kensington victory midweek, the McEvoys are keen to keep their momentum rolling. Half Yours has been a revelation since joining their stable earlier this year, winning three of his five outings, including a runaway 4-1/2 length win in the Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m).
“He has been incredible. He’s exciting us,” Tony McEvoy said.
“He has come through the benchmarks and then he won that Caloundra Cup really impressively.
“I don’t want to be rude about the race but I’m not sure where that sits when you start talking about ‘Metrops’ and those races, but the market has got him favourite for it so I am very buoyed by that and the horse is fabulous.
“He hasn’t been out of training so he will run in that race on Saturday and then go to the Kingston Town (Stakes) and ‘Metrop’.”
Despite drawing the extreme outside barrier 20, Half Yours sits at $4 for Saturday and $7 in early markets for The Metropolitan.
Coco Sun, winner of the 2024 South Australian Derby, also fared poorly at the draw with gate 18. McEvoy admitted her preparation has already been impacted by recent wet weather and said it was important not to delay her campaign any further.
“We have tinkered a little bit with their preparations already with the changing of the trials so I don’t think I can change again, otherwise I am going to get too far behind with them,” he said.
“We will probably run them. Barriers win you races, don’t they? But I’ve got Ashley Morgan and the young apprentice (Braith Nock) that is riding beautifully.
“Those guys are making good decisions so I’ll just let them ride the horse and hope for a bit of luck.”
Coco Sun has not saluted since her Derby triumph but has run consistently at a high level. McEvoy stressed her preference for rain-affected going, pointing to her unplaced effort in the Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) as a case where firm conditions counted against her.
“She has got to start doing it race day. I couldn’t be happier with her and all the data we do is telling us she is as good as when she was ‘good’,” he said.
Punters looking to back either Half Yours or Coco Sun can secure value across Australia’s leading betting sites.