\n\t\t\t\t\tBy Paul Symes<\/b>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Listen<\/p>\n
Having knocked off the Queen\u2019s horse when he won the Ebor Handicap (1m 6f), trainer Brian Ellison is planning to commit a similar act of treason when Onesmoothoperator (Dialed In) attempts to defend his title in the Geelong Cup (Gr 3, 2400m).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The proud Englishman joked that he might not be allowed back into the country should the horse he affectionately calls \u2018Smoothy\u2019 topple Geelong Cup favourite Gilded Water (Fastnet Rock) on Wednesday afternoon, thereby denying His Majesty King Charles III his first runner in the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellison may already be out of favour with the British monarchy after his stayer Moyenne Corniche (Selkirk), who subsequently ran 15th behind Dunaden (Nicobar) in the Melbourne Cup, just pipped Tactician (Motivator) \u2013 racing in the colours of the late Queen Elizabeth II \u2013 to the prize in the 2011 Ebor.<\/p>\n
That victory marked a formative big race breakthrough for the dual-purpose trainer, who is based in the English county of Yorkshire; and Onesmoothoperator\u2019s runaway success in last year\u2019s Geelong Cup would also feature prominently in the highlights reel of a career which has now yielded 1,500 victories on the Flat and over jumps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That 2.25-length romp in the Geelong Cup brought up a first winner on Australian shores for Ellison, who had come mighty close with Moyenne Corniche in the 2011 Herbert Power Stakes (Gr. 2, 2400m) only to be foiled by Robert Hickmott\u2019s multiple stakes winner Tanby (Galileo).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
With 4 kilograms more on his back this year, Onesmoothoperator faces a stiffer test of his staying credentials and, perhaps due to the Geelong Cup\u2019s elevation to a Melbourne Cup golden ticket race, the northern hemisphere seven-year-old also arguably meets a more competitive field 12 months on.<\/p>\n
To counterbalance those twin impostors, however, Ellison believes his globetrotting galloper is in better shape heading into the Geelong Cup, where he will be reunited with Craig Williams.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHis [gallop] times are quicker than they were here last year, so that gives us plenty of confidence going in,\u201d Ellison told ANZ News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves travelling and especially coming to Australia, he just seems to thrive when he comes over here. He\u2019s been working nicely and both his gallops have been spot on, so we\u2019re really happy with him. To my eye he looks even bigger and stronger than he did last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hasn\u2019t raced for three months so he\u2019s very fresh and will need the run, but I would still expect him to be very competitive in the Geelong Cup. Craig knows the horse very well and even though it\u2019s probably a slightly stronger field than last year, going on his work in the build-up I do think he\u2019ll run very well. Having said that, the weather forecast is looking a bit iffy so I just hope we don\u2019t get too much rain on the day, because he prefers firmer ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike last year when he required a weight penalty to jump the queue, Onesmoothoperator currently occupies 25th place in the Melbourne Cup order of entry and so is virtually guaranteed a start in the Flemington showpiece, regardless of the outcome of the Geelong Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perhaps just as significantly, the first hurdle has already been cleared even before he takes to the Geelong track, with Onesmoothoperator so far passing all the vet checks required of the international contingent assembled at Werribee.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
If that preliminary box has been ticked, Ellison is only too aware of the dangers of counting one\u2019s chickens given that his first visit to Melbourne in 2005 ended in abrupt disappointment when Carte Diamond (Theatrical) was scratched from the great race after a training accident at Flemington.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellison feared a repeat of that horrible history last year when Onesmoothoperator sustained a minor cut to his heel while having his hooves trimmed at Werribee, and had to be reassessed by vets on Melbourne Cup morning before being passed fit to take his place.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The drama didn\u2019t end there, as Onesmoothoperator suffered significant interference just as he was beginning to build some momentum in the long Flemington straight, eventually finishing just over five lengths behind surprise winner Knight\u2019s Choice (Extreme Choice) in 12th place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Undeterred, Ellison began preparing for a return to Australia virtually from the moment he landed back in the United Kingdom, so determined is he to add the Melbourne Cup to his list of training achievements.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shortly after touching down in Melbourne this year, the genial 73-year-old and his wife took a trip along Victoria\u2019s Great Ocean Road where they paid a visit to the region\u2019s \u2018Twelve Apostles\u2019. Given the misfortune that has occasionally dogged him in previous years, Ellison may have been moved to say a silent prayer that the build-up to this year\u2019s Melbourne Cup is rather less troublesome.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely came away from last year\u2019s Melbourne Cup with a sense of disappointment, because we felt like we were a good chance of winning the race,\u201d he told ANZ News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe build-up wasn\u2019t ideal, he had that issue with his heel and he also stepped on a rock when we took him down to the beach, so it was an interrupted preparation and you really need everything to go right before such a big race. Then luck wasn\u2019t on our side in the race either, he got flattened in the straight but he still managed to pick himself up and ran some of the quickest times of the race in the last 400 metres.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we were still proud of the horse, and were really keen to come back and have another go this year. We only gave him three runs back home this year, because it was always in our minds to keep him fresh for the Melbourne Cup. The prize-money is amazing, especially now that they pay $100,000 even if you finish last, but it\u2019s the whole build-up that makes it such a great experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re stuck to a similar routine again this year, so hopefully we can have a similar result in the Geelong Cup then hope that luck goes our way this time in the Melbourne Cup.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Onesmoothoperator, whose sire Dialed In (Mineshaft) stands at Darby Dan Farm in Kentucky, is bidding to become the sixth American-bred horse to win the Melbourne Cup, with Americain (Dynaformer) the most recent in 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Indeed, there could be a distinctly American theme to this year\u2019s Cup, with fellow Werribee resident Parchment Party (Constitution) striving to become the first horse trained in \u2018the land of the free\u2019 to etch his name onto the famous trophy. However, while respectful of Parchment Party\u2019s Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and jockey Johnny Velazquez, Ellison feels that the chief threat may come from a bit closer to home, in the shape of his fellow European raiders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAl Riffa is obviously in fantastic form, so provided he can carry the big weight [59 kilograms] he\u2019ll be tough to beat but I also thought the French horse [Presage Nocturne] ran a great race in the Caulfield Cup,\u201d said Ellison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe winner [Half Yours] looks a rapidly improving horse with a very good turn of foot, so even though he got a penalty in the Melbourne Cup, if he can take that form into the race then he\u2019s probably going to be the horse to beat. I also think Meydaan will be much better suited by the big track at Flemington and by the extra distance of the Melbourne Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very deep, competitive field, as it is every year, but I do think we\u2019re in with a chance. No matter where he draws we\u2019ll drop him in the second half of the field, because that\u2019s the only way to ride him. So we\u2019ll need a bit of luck in the run, but everything has gone well so far and hopefully that can continue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Paul Symes Listen Having knocked off the Queen\u2019s horse when he won the Ebor Handicap (1m 6f),…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517721,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4107],"tags":[1071,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-517720","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-racing","8":"tag-racing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115413783987630561","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}