Cascadian will be vying to become just the third horse in history to win Randwick’s two biggest mile races in the same calendar year when he lines up in the Epsom Handicap.
Only Blue Legend (1946) and the extraordinary Super Impose (1990-91) have claimed the Doncaster-Epsom double in the same year and jockey Hugh Bowman believes Cascadian is in the right vein of form to add his name to the elite list.
“I’m really pleased with how he’s going,” Bowman said.
“He was great first-up, a bit plain second-up but I was really pleased with him third-up.
“He’ll be ready to run a peak performance in the Epsom hopefully.”
Cascadian charged home to finish a close fifth in the Winx Stakes first-up then followed with a sound fourth in the Chelmsford Stakes.
He was again doing his best work late for a last-start fifth to glamour mare Verry Elleegant in the George Main Stakes when he came from last on the turn.
Bowman expects a drop back to handicap conditions to suit the seven-year-old, although he is mindful the gelding has second topweight of 56.5kg – a decent rise on the 53kg he carried to victory for Jamie Kah in the Doncaster.
“He’s a horse who, the way he races, he’s better suited to the handicap style than the top weight-for-age races,” Bowman said.
“You can’t ignore the fact he’s going to carry nearly topweight and when he won the Doncaster, he had 53.
“Whether that’s going to be significant or not, I don’t know, but it’s certainly a factor.”
Interestingly, four of the past six Epsom Handicap winners have carried 56kg or more and Bowman has been aboard two of them.
Cascadian’s former stablemate Hartnell had 57kg when he gave Bowman his second Epsom three years ago after the top jockey claimed his first aboard Winx, who carted the same impost in 2015.
Bowman needs one more major to claim his 100th Group 1 win and has rides in all three top-tier races at Randwick on Saturday.
He also partners the David Payne-trained Montefilia in the Metropolitan (2400m) and Mallory for Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou in the Flight Stakes (1600m).