The 2012 Summer Cup at Rosehill Gardens on Boxing Day is now firmly on the agenda for Poste Restante after Desleigh Forster’s smart mare posted her second win on the trot over the weekend in Brisbane.
Poste Restante is heading towards the 2012 Summer Cup in Sydney after back-to-back Brisbane wins
The Postponed four-year-old, formerly prepared in New Zealand, joined Forster’s Eagle Farm stables midway through the year and has now won three of her seven starts down under.
Fourth in this year’s Group 1 NZ Oaks over the mile and a half back in March, Poste Restante jumped as the odds-on $1.60 favourite in Saturday’s $50,000 TRC Celebration Season Open Handicap (2118m) at Eagle Farm and didn’t disappoint.
While they only had a short half-head to spare over the Liam Birchely-trained Trajet ($4.60) on the line, John Thompson’s Count Encosta ($4.60) two lengths away third, they still got the title and are still on way to the $125,000 Group 3 Summer Cup (2400m) on December 26.
The narrow winning margin was accredited to Poste Restante loosing focus in the closing stages according to jockey Michael Cahill, the hoop to suggest the re-installment of blinkers for the Summer Cup.
“She did a similar thing when she won her previous start here and I think she needs the blinkers to go back on,” he said.
“In my mind she’s up to Group company. Certainly Group Three or Group Two standard in staying races.
“I just would’ve liked to see her finish it off better.”
Also heading towards the 2012 Summer Cup at the end of the month is Tony McEvoy’s classy European stayer Le Roi who won the $100,000 The CFV Great Strides Handicap (2000m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
“I was really impressed with him, he took on some hard nuts today,” McEvoy said of the untapped youngster on Saturday.
“He’s still only a three-year-old, but I love the way he finished it off and the further the better.”
The Areion stallion is now three from five in Australia, their only other start being a win on debut in France back in September last year, and improving as they go up in distance.
“He could go to Sydney (for the Summer Cup),” McEvoy said.
“I really would like to give him a run at a mile and a half and it will really help his rating for next year. It will make our job a bit easier to get into some races next year.”
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