Day Six – Riven Light To Have A Few Entries In Melbourne
The Willie Mullins-trained pair Wicklow Brave (Beat Hollow) and Riven Light (Raven’s Pass), who arrived in quarantine on Thursday having won the Listowel Stakes (Listed, 1m1f) a week ago, were steadily cantered once round.
Riven Light is in the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m), but he will have a few other entries in Melbourne and it’s possible he will run in the Caulfield Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Caulfield on 14 October.
“Nothing has been finalised and if he does run in the Caulfield Stakes we’ll see how things go and take it from there,” Mullins told the Racing Post yesterday.
The William Haggas-trained and OTI Racing-owned Fastnet Tempest (Fastnet Tempest) looked comfortable with a good piece of work solo on Side Hill.
While, Red Cardinal (Montjeu), trained by Andreas Wohler and raced by Australian Bloodstock, the same connections as Protectionist (Monsun), who won the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) in 2014, was joined by Sixties Groove (Sixties Icon) and Garcia (Paco Boy), also on Side Hill.
Group Three winner Steel Of Madrid (Lope De Vega), who was trained by Richard Hannon and will enter training with Tony McEvoy when he arrives in Australia, was also cantered unaccompanied gently round Side Hill.
International Racehorse Transport’s managing director Jim Paltridge told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday afternoon that everything was going according to plan with all the horses.
“Everything is ticking along well. We got the first batch of results back and they are all clear so that’s good. Essentially the weather is much better which always helps and everything is going along fine on the testing front,” said Paltridge.
“The bloods that were taken yesterday (Monday) will get set up to check for piroplasmosis, which is a tick born anemia that horses can suffer from, usually in the mediterranean area and the warmer climates. But Australia doesn’t have it so we just need to be sure that none of them are carrying it. They will also be checked for Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) as well.
“The results will come back in the next few days and yesterday (Monday) the colt’s all had the second CEM swabs as well.”