The ambition of competing in the Melbourne Cup has been set aside for South Australian galloper Sir Kingsford, with connections now preferring to focus on domestic Cup races.
After achieving a second-place finish in the Port Adelaide Cup at Morphettville in May, Sir Kingsford crossed the state border to compete in the Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m) at Flemington, a race that grants the winner ballot exemption into the Melbourne Cup.
Sir Kingsford did not perform well at the longer distance, prompting trainers Gary and Nichole Searle and Brianna Callanan to decide to restrict the gelding to a maximum of 2000 metres for this campaign.
“It found him out,” Gary Searle remarked about the 2800m distance. “I always had my doubts, because he’s got that little bit of brilliance about him and you have to let him roll a bit. I didn’t go there last year after he won the Port Adelaide Cup because I had doubts, but this year, the owner said, ‘let’s find out’ so we did.”
Sir Kingsford is set to commence his ‘spring’ campaign slightly earlier this year, lining up in the Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes (1400m) at Morphettville Park on Saturday.
This race serves as a precursor to the Listed Balaklava Cup (1600m) on September 16, the Listed Murray Bridge Cup (1600m) on October 3, and the Listed John Letts Cup (1800m) at Morphettville on Melbourne Cup Day.
These were three races Sir Kingsford contested last year, though a venture to Melbourne for the JRA Cup at Moonee Valley proved unsuccessful, as he struggled to adapt to the track.
If his preparation proceeds as planned, Sir Kingsford may travel across the border again in December to contest the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m).
“We put him out after Flemington, he had a month in the paddock and then a couple of weeks of doing a bit of equestrian work,” Searle explained. “He was bouncing, so we thought we would bring him in. We’ll run him in this, which he will probably need, but in saying that, he has a bit of a spring in his step, the old fella, so I don’t think he will disgrace himself. After this, we’ll go to the Balaklava Cup, the Murray Bridge Cup and the John Letts Cup. We went through that last year. We ran third in the Murray Bridge Cup and second to Air Assault in the John Letts Cup. Air Assault has got the wood on us up to 1800 (metres), but maybe he might end up in Melbourne this year. He’s going to be running in races that are going to be short of his best, but I’ll treat him a bit different this prep as I won’t be getting out past 2000 metres. We’ll keep him nice and fresh and train him more as a sprinter.”
Searle indicated that Saturday’s race includes many of the horses expected to participate in the Balaklava Cup, a race Sir Kingsford contested first-up last year.
He added that should Sir Kingsford head to Ballarat in December, there would be ample time to follow a similar autumn racing schedule as the previous year.
“We could have a freshen up and have a go at the Oakbank Cup again and the Port Adelaide Cup again and just go down that path,” Searle stated. “It’s just so hard with these horses in South Australia with their rating. They go up quick, and you get stuck there.”
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