Half of the Team Freedman training duo Lee Freedman has confirmed plans to target the Australian Cup 2017 with last year’s Caulfield Cup placegetter Exospheric.

At just his second start down under the British import finished a brave third behind the winner Jameka in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m).

A five-year-old son of Beat Hollow, Exospheric backed-up in the ‘race that stops a nation’ and finished a credible eighth behind Almandin in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) on the first Tuesday of November.

The stallion has won four of his dozen career starts to date and Freedman is hoping he can add to that and break his maiden status down under this coming Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival.

Speaking to Racing Victoria this week Freedman named the $1.5 million Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 11 as a nice autumn target for the galloper.

He said the horse would likely following the traditional path into the weight-for-age feature via the $500,000 Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 11 and the $200,000 Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) back at the track on Blue Diamond Stakes Day.

“Exospheric’s been in work a little while now, he’s ready to step up his work,” Freedman said.

“He may run in the Orr Stakes in three weeks’ time.

“I’m very pleased with him, he’s settled in really well.

“Even though he grew a bit of a winter coat at the wrong time because he was a bit out of season, we’ve clipped him and he’s responded to that well. He’s not suffering in the heat.

“He’ll probably go Orr-Peter Young-Australian Cup.”

The Peter Young Stakes has produced three of the past five Australian Cup winners including Fiorente (2014) who completed the double.

The stable also have fellow import Tom Melbourne tracking towards a run in this season’s Australian Cup field.

A six-year-old son of Dylan Thomas, Tom Melbourne has had fourteen career runs for five wins.

He hasn’t been victorious since the Albury Cup in March last year but was competitive over the spring.

After a Group 3 second on Caulfield Cup Day he finished runner-up to Oceanographer on Derby Day in the Group 3 Lexus Stakes (2500m).

Tom Melbourne was last seen racing on November 5 at Flemington when third to Francis Of Assisi in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m), well beaten by nearly eleven lengths.

Freedman has prepared two previous Australian Cup winners with Durbridge (1994) and triple Melbourne Cup winning mare Makybe Diva (2005).

The 2017 Australian Cup nominations close on January 23 followed by first acceptances on February 21 and final declarations on March 8.

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