First Immortal out to stamp 2024 Melbourne Cup claims
The Caulfield and Melbourne Cups are still six months away, but those two races are clearly in the focus of father-and-son training duo Mark and Levi Kavanagh.
First Immortal was bound for those races last year, but with a less than satisfactory rating he was forced to try and win his way in via a ballot exemption.
That did not eventuate and after knocking his head prior to running in the Geelong Cup, First Immortal was given a break and brought back for the late autumn with a view to short-circuiting a Cups start this year.
After landing his first Stakes win in the Listed Anniversary Vase (1600m) at Caulfield last month, First Immortal takes the next step in the Group 3 Easter Cup (2000m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Levi Kavanagh said First Immortal was a late bloomer and believes he and his father did the right thing by the horse by giving him time. irst Im
“We originally had him set out to win the South Australian Derby, but he wasn’t quite ready,” Kavanagh told RSN.
“He was still learning his craft through the winter last year and we probably jumped up a little bit quick trying to get him into some of the feature races in the spring, but he was showing us that he was making the necessary improvement all the time.
“But we just didn’t have the rating to carry it out and get him to the races we wanted to.
“So, that’s what the autumn’s about, get him to that higher grade.
“He’s got a much better rating now and we can put him wherever we want to put him, and we’re going to try and secure him some slots for this year’s spring.”
The ideal scenario after Saturday is to head to the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m) on April 20 and then onto the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m) at Flemington on May 18.
Both races carry a ballot exemption for the winner into the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup respectively.
“If he can get tickets into both, that would be the ideal prep for him, but we have to wait and see how he comes up in the spring,” Kavanagh said.
“If he got tickets into both, that’s certainly where we’d like to place him.”
More Racing News
Dan Morton keeps faith with 2024 Railway Stakes mare
Trainer Dan Morton has shrugged aside Super Smink’s horror barrier draw and still thinks she can win the Group 1 Swan Draught-Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot on Saturday. A layer of complexity was added to Super Smink’s Railway Stakes bid after she was handed barrier 18, but Dan Morton is keeping the...
Timing right for Port Lockroy in G1 Railway Stakes bid
He’s one of five interstate raiders and the outsider of the quintet, but co-trainer, Rob Archibald believes there is a sense of timing about Port Lockroy in Saturday’s Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot. Rob Archibald, who shares training duties with Annabel Neasham, says Port Lockroy put himself into Railway Stakes...
Royal task for Gilded Water at local debut
A benchmark race on The Gong undercard will add some Royal flavour to the stand-alone Kembla Grange meeting when a horse owned by His Majesty King Charles III makes his local debut. Four-year-old Gilded Water has been sent to Australia to continue his racing career, having started just four times in the...
Improving trio to fly flag for Godolphin at Kembla Grange
Godolphin doesn’t have a representative in The Gong, but James Cummings is content to rely on a trio of up-and-coming sprinters to carry the stable’s hopes at the stand-alone Kembla Grange meeting. Fleetwood will headline the leading yard’s squad when he resumes in the Group 3 The Warra (1000m), while Pisanello and Restonica contest benchmark...
Jason Collett hoping to find Express lane in The Gong
Jason Collett is resigned to the fact that he will be more reliant on luck than good management as he tries to coax another win out of Territory Express in the $1 million The Gong at Kembla Grange. The Provincial-Midway Championships Final victor in the autumn, Territory Express has a get-back racing pattern...
Mark Walker aims for ‘new’ hometown Cranbourne Cup
Trainer Mark Walker has a good record when in form New Zealand gallopers land in Australia. Walker’s latest ‘import’ is It’s A Wild Night who will have his first Australian outing in the Listed Cranbourne Cup (1600m) on Saturday. It’s A Wild Night arrived at Walker’s Cranbourne base just over a week ago...
Trainer Gavin Bedggood chasing Fortune in The Meteorite
Gavin Bedggood hopes the decision to take Oscar’s Fortune to Cranbourne for a midweek gallop will pay off handsomely on Saturday. Oscar’s Fortune runs in the $1 million The Meteorite (1200m), a new ‘slot race’ that Southside Racing, a merged entity of the Cranbourne and Pakenham Clubs, runs for the first time. The former...
Railway Stakes 2024 timing perfect for Baker’s Bel
In-form mare Belclare will need to overcome a wide alley to land her first Australian Group One win in the Railway Stakes at Ascot, and connections believe Nash Rawiller is the perfect man for the job. A two-time victor at the highest level in New Zealand, Belclare joined the Sydney stable of Bjorn...
John Stewart eyes Melbourne with 2024 Japan Cup fancy
Goliath faces one of the toughest tasks in racing this weekend, beating the Japanese at home in their biggest race, but John Stewart is already planning his next moves with his star recruit and Australia is on the itinerary. The ambitious American has quickly become a powerful investor in Australian racing and...
Hedged poised to give The Warra rivals a trim-up
The Magic Millions carnival is the campaign focal point for promising sprinter Hedged, but trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr are hoping he can knock off a feature race along the way. The gelding will resume in the Group 3 The Warra (1000m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday, his first start...
