Untapped young stayer So Si Bon may be earmarked for a 2017 Caulfield Cup bid this spring but trainer Robbie Laing has been told the gun stallion won’t make the cut for the Memsie Stakes field Saturday week.
So Si Bon (right) is unlikely to gain a start in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes on Saturday week. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos
Cranbourne-based Laing admitted he would have liked to line-up his son of So You Think at Caulfield on September 2 in the Group 1 $1 million Memsie Stakes (1400m), a race set to feature the likes of Vega Magic and Black Heart Bart.
Four-year-old So Si Bon however has only won one of his 13 career starts, a three-years-old maiden at Pakenham back in September of 2016, and therefore sits too low down the ratings to earn a Memsie run.
“We’d love to go to the Memsie but all the good judges tell me that no way known will he get a run as he’s only an 88-starter,” Laing admitted to Racing Victoria this week.
The galloper has plenty of talent and staying potential however and is already a five-time Group 1 performer including his Victoria Derby fourth to Prized Icon last spring and his brave third behind the Kiwi Gingernuts in Sydney’s Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) on a Heavy (10) track back in March.
After a disappointing 11th to fellow New Zealander Jon Snow in the Group 1 ATC Derby (2400m) during ‘The Championships’, So Si Bon went out for a spell.
He made his new season debut on August 12 finishing a close second in a Benchmark 90 behind Sunday Escape after a big run from a wide alley (14 of 15) carrying plenty of weight (58kg).
Over the 1000m first-up So Si Bon came from last to cross just a neck off the winner giving Laing plenty of second-up options for the galloper.
“We could see him at Caulfield over 1100m on Saturday,” Laing said.
“At the end of the day, he’s only won a Pakenham maiden so he gets into races like the Bobbie Lewis and the Sir Rupert Clarke on the minimum [weight].
“Gee, you think he’d be hard to beat over 1400 metres on the minimum in three of four weeks’ time.”
The Group 2 $200,000 Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m) runs down the Flemington straight on September 16 and is also a target for Newmarket Handicap winner Redkirk Warrior who heads towards Sydney’s The Everest.
The Group 1 $500,000 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) is contested a fortnight later at Caulfield Racecourse on October 1.
Laing isn’t stopping there either plotting an ambitious plan to target the Toorak Handicap – Caulfield Cup double emulating the feat achieved by Cole Diesel back in 1989.
“I might do a Cole Diesel and run him in the Toorak Handicap and then Caulfield Cup,” Laing said.
“He can run all distances. He ran fourth in the [VRC] Derby and I thought he was a good thing beaten. He missed the kick, gave them 15 lengths start and ran fourth.”
The Group 1 $500,000 Toorak Handicap (1600m) runs over the Caulfield mile on October 14 a fortnight prior to the Group 1 $3 million BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) giving So Si Bon an extra week’s recovery than Cole Diesel who completed the double on successive Saturdays.
So Si Bon is currently listed as a $51 roughie in futures Caulfield Cup 2017 odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au with Hartnell the $9 favourite following his first-up win in the P.B. Lawrence Stakes.
To back So Si Bon over the spring and to access the best all-in Caulfield Cup betting markets this season visit Ladbrokes.com.au today.
