This Saturday Michael Moroney’s Australian Cup 2013 hopeful Zabisco will look to earn a shot at the $1 million feature next month when they line up in the $100,000 Swettenham Stud Summer Championship Final (1600m) at Caulfield Racecourse.
The five-year-old Zabeel gelding boosted their record to six wins from 19 starts last time out on January 12 when they scored a narrow victory in a mile handicap at Flemington.
On the weekend they will look to make it back-to-back wins when they line-up in Caulfield Race 6, Zabisco drawn in gate four of 12 with Brad Rawiller taking over from Glen Boss who is engaged to ride rival Finishing Card (barrier 12).
Zabisco is currently rated a $12 chance in the Summer Championship Final odds at bookmaker.com.au which are led by the Danny O’Brien-trained The New Boy ($3.50) who has finished a long neck or less away second in their three most recent runs and Peter Moody’s Flying Spur four-year-old Infinite Energy ($3.70) coming off two good third place finishes over 1400m at Flemington.
Moroney’s racing manager Anthony Feroce likes their price and said they have been progressing well since their impressive win last month.
“He has trained on really well and we can’t fault his work,” Feroce said.
“’He goes up two kilograms (to 58.5kg) but should get a nice run from barrier four and if the pace is genuine he will be hitting the line strongly.”
If they can score an upset on Saturday it will go a long way to earning them some black type assignments throughout the Melbourne Festival of Racing, the former New Zealander having failed to impress in their latest stakes run when a distant 11th to Secret Liaison in the Listed Lord Stakes (1612m) at Mornington on December 27.
Their next assignment after this weekend, should everything go to plan, will be the $150,000 Group 3 Carlyon Cup (1600m) back at Caulfield next Saturday.
A pipe dream this season for the galloper is the weight-for-age Group 1 Darley Australian Cup (2000m) set to run at Flemington Racecourse on the festival’s Super Saturday, March 9.
“If he could win the Carlyon Cup you would certainly have to entertain running in the Australian Cup,” Feroce said.
“Sometimes these big races can fall away a bit and if you are fit and racing well, sometimes it’s worth a throw at the stumps.”
In the futures Australian Cup odds Zabisco is rated a $101 roughie and will have to do some big things between now and then to firm much further in those markets which are led by last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon ($4.20) and crack colt All Too Hard ($4.60).
Get behind your favourites at Caulfield this weekend and in the futures markets for the upcoming autumn Group 1’s like the Australian Cup 2013 online now at bookmaker.com.au – home of the famous Quickbet technology allowing you to place your bets in three clicks!
