Perennial Cox Plate underachiever Whobegotyou will embark on his third attempt to capture Australia’s weight for age racing crown when he resumes in the PB Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.
Whobegotyou is set for their a third tilt at the Cox Plate this year
Following a 1400m workout at Flemington on Friday, trainer Mark Kavanagh confirmed that the six year old would more than likely resume in the PB Lawrence, which was formerly known as the Liston Stakes.
“He didn’t go too bad. I’m happy with him,” Kavanagh said.
“I will study the entries for Saturday and check on the weather but he will probably run.
“He’s well and heading for his third Cox Plate and hopefully all goes well and he gets there.”
Kavanagh also confirmed that he would give Whobegotyou a light campaign to ensure that he is tip top condition by the time the Cox Plate rolls around.
“We will space his runs and make sure he is at his peak for Cox Plate day,” he said.
“There’s one race we are after and I haven’t really cranked him up yet. He’s idling along and I will really put a bit of pressure on him in the next few weeks.
“If he runs on Saturday that will give him four weeks to the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes and we have the option of running him in the Memsie if we want.”
If Kavanagh was to stick to that plan at would almost mirror Whobegotyou’s campaign from last spring, apart from the fact that he is resuming a little earlier. Last spring he finished second in the Memsie first up, won the Dato Tan Chin Nam and finished third behind So You Think in the Yalumba.
Whobegotyou has raced only twice since finishing third in last year’s Cox Plate. He finished second behind More Joyous in the Group One Futurity Stakes at Caulfield before taking out the Blamey Stakes at Flemington. Kavanagh had planned to race the Group One winner in the Sydney Autumn carnival, however he abandoned those plans after the horse was found to be suffering from a niggling injury.
“We pulled the pin on going to Sydney because it was a niggling injury that we just couldn’t get right,” Kavanagh said.
“There are not many races for these horses and I won’t race them unless they are 100 per cent. I have shown that in the past.”
Whobegotyou has been an expensive commodity for Cox Plate punters in the past two Cox Plates. He has been at the top of betting markets in both years, and despite the fact that he is yet to produce his best in the Weight for Age Classic, he is currently an equal $10.00 favourite for the race in pre-post markets.
So You Think is also rated a $10.00 chance, but the two time defending champion is unlikely to come back to Australia to defend his crown as Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien will more than likely target some of the European Group Ones with the former Bart Cummings trained stallion.
However despite his dual failures in the Cox Plate, punters keen to back Whobegetyou can take some solace in the fact that outside of the Cox Plate, he has a wonderful record at Moonee Valley.
Whobegotyou has won four of his seven starts at the track. The only time he has missed the placing’s when racing at the at Moonee Valley was as a three year old on the AAMI Vase and in the 2009 Cox Plate.
In fact he has only missed the placing’s six times in his 27 race career, and as a horse that is prepared for the big races, that is an incredible record.
Just 11 horses have nominated for the PB Lawrence on Saturday, among them, current Melbourne Cup favourite Lights of Heaven, who will be ridden by Ben Melham after Peter Moody’s stable rider Luke Nolen was suspended.
Of the 11 horses nominated for the PB Lawrence Stakes, five are owned by prolific owner Lloyd Williams. These include Mourayan, Akzar, Base, I’m Imposing and Vesper.
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