Becker hoping Soul-searching mission can pay off
Agent also has respect for Mullins’ favourite Vauban in 163rd Melbourne Cup
A 24–hour window more than two years ago could prove the difference between winning and losing this year’s Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) and agent Mathew Becker hopes the near miss on Vauban (Galilway) doesn’t come to bear.
Becker’s clients have Soulcombe (Frankel) and last-start Bendigo Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) winner Interpretation (Galileo) in the Cup, but for a day during the late European summer of 2021, the 2023 Cup favourite Vauban could have also been sporting the colours of prominent owner Ozzie Kheir in Australia’s most recognisable race.
Instead, Ireland’s training maestro Willie Mullins and owner Rich Ricci bought the high-class stayer just before Kheir was prepared to make a substantial offer for the then three-year-old winner of the Prix Frederic de Lagrange (Listed, 2400m) in France.
He has won five races since for Mullins and Ricci over hurdles and on the flat, including his past two starts at Royal Ascot and most recently in the Ballyroan Stakes (Gr 3, 1m 4f) at Naas.
Despite the looming threat of Vauban and the Mullins-trained Ebor Handicap (1m 6f) winning stablemate Absurde (Fastnet Rock) – two of the three horses in the field of 23 yet to race in Australia – Becker is confident in the hand Kheir and his partners hold for this year’s Cup.
Soulcombe is the group’s top seed, having beaten home Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) winner and Cup rival Without A Fight (Teofilo) in the Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) and Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) winner Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) in the Turnbull Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m).
Then things went awry in the Caulfield Cup, the Chris Waller-trained European import, who was purchased by Becker and Kheir about 18 months ago, bombed the start by about six lengths before closing to finish seventh, five and a half lengths behind the winner.
Becker yesterday called it a blip on the radar, hopeful that the removal of blinkers and the addition of Joao Moreira in the saddle may prove decisive at 3pm today for Soulcombe, who won the Queen’s Cup (Gr 3, 2600m) on Champions Day at Flemington 12 months ago.
“He then went through the typical acclimatisation preparation in the autumn but this preparation for the spring, it was going so well,” Becker told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He was absolutely prime first-up and then we switched him to weight–for–age racing, which we thought was going to be a big test for him, but he stood up and he ran an unbelievable fourth in an Underwood and he beat the subsequent Caulfield Cup winner that day and then he goes to a Turnbull again at ten furlongs and I thought he was absolutely first class beating the subsequent Cox Plate winner that day.
“The form around him for a Melbourne Cup is outstanding. So, we thought he was a big chance in the Caulfield Cup, but he threw it away at the start and you just can’t do that in those races.”
Kheir and Becker also have the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Interpretation set to run in the Cup, with the agent taking some confidence out of the precedent set last year when his stablemate High Emocean (Ocean Park) won the Bendigo Cup prior to running third in the Cup.
“The reality is, he’s going to be sitting there trying to get a piece of the place money. It’d be hard to see him winning but one thing is, he’s also had a really good grounding,” Becker said.
“Ciaron Maher is just so good at getting these European stayers right and last preparation he was a frustrating horse because he was an entire then and he probably wasn’t the most genuine, he loomed up a lot of times and wouldn’t put them away.
“As a gelding, he’s been much more genuine and I think all his runs this time bar one have been first class.
“He finally got that win on the board in the Bendigo Cup and we were just thrilled with that.”
To help identify and source quality cups horses in an increasingly competitive space, the Kheir-led syndicate liaises with numerous international form and ratings experts as well as accessing detailed databases including RaceLab Global, a racing and wagering data company of which Victoria Racing Club vice-chairman Michael Ramsden is a director.
So, armed with this knowledge, how does Becker assess the chances of Vauban, who was backed to win more than $2.4 million at yesterday’s Call of the Card at Melbourne’s Crown Casino?
“I think the market’s got it right. He rates like a very good horse and he’s probably very well weighted for what he could be,” Becker said.
“Funnily enough, Ozzie and I tried to buy him, but we were just beaten to the punch by Rich Ricci and Willie who bought him out of France. We identified him off our data as well and we were 24 hours too late. He had already been sold.”
While full of respect for Vauban, if he is to be beaten, Becker believes it may be the tempo of Australian racing which brings him undone.
“He’s pretty good and he’s got 55 kilos, so he’s definitely the worry for us to try to beat, but racing in Australia is a little bit different where in Europe they really test the horses’ stamina,” he said.
“Racing here can be more tactical where absolute stamina doesn’t win you the races, it’s tactical speed and at some point you’re going to need to sprint.
“I think to get him beaten, if the race turns into a muddling pace or he doesn’t begin well and he gets shuffled back the fence and he needs a turn of speed to get out of trouble, that would be our opportunity to beat him, but if Ryan [Moore] gets let loose with him up the front I can see him being awfully hard to run down.”
If that does happen, it could be Soulcombe who emerges as the winner.
“This is his first opportunity beyond a mile and a half this preparation and this is where we think this horse excels,” said Becker.
“All his data tells us he’s an elite stayer, so I am confident that he’s had the right grounding, he’s got the right form lines and he’s got the right trainer, the right jockey and the right gate [4], he’s got a lot of things going in his favour.
“We’re optimistic but you can’t be confident going into a Melbourne Cup – it’s a hard race to win – but we wouldn’t swap him for anything in the race.”