Monday, 16 July 2012: Adelaide mare Southern Speed is set to have two starts at Morphettville to kick start her spring campaign aimed at an historic second successive win in the $2.65 million Caulfield Cup in October.
 | Southern Speed
Photo by Racing and Sports | |
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If Southern Speed can win her second successive Caulfield Cup it will be a ground breaking victory as no mare has won the world's richest 2400m handicap twice and only two horses - Poseidon (1906/07) and Rising Fast (1954/55) - are dual winners in successive years.
Paris (1892 and 1894), Uncle Sam (1912 and 1914), Whittier (1922 and 1925) and Ming Dynasty (1977 and 1980) are the other multiple winners.
Macdonald, who trains Southern Speed in partnership with his son-in-law Andrew Gluyas, has mapped out a different program to last year with two races at Morphettville in Adelaide on the agenda.
Unlike last spring when Southern Speed campaigned solely in Melbourne, Macdonald will run the rising five-year-old first-up in the G3 Spring Stakes (1200m) on August 11.
He then has the Listed Penny Edition Stakes (1400m) on August 25 on her program before she moves to Melbourne to follow the same path to the Caulfield Cup as last year.
“She's been in work a bit over a month, she looks extremely well and she's going nicely,” Macdonald said.
“Her first run in Melbourne could be the Stocks Stakes at Moonee Valley then it will be a weight-for-age program leading up to the Caulfield Cup.
“It will probably be the same route as she went last year.”
Last spring Southern Speed was fourth in the G2 Stocks Stakes (1600m) and then was runner-up in the G1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield and fourth in the G1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington before beating Green Moo and Tullamore in the Caulfeld Cup.
Macdonald does not expect Southern Speed to be severely penalised for last year's Caulfield Cup win under 52kg despite G1 placings in the autumn in the C.F. Orr Stakes and Australian Cup.
“She has only won one ordinary race since the Caulfield Cup, so I don't think she will be weighted out of it this year,”Macdonald said.
“It's the best race for her. She's not really a Cox Plate horse unless she's going better than she was last year and that's something she's going to have to tell us.”
Southern Speed spelled after finishing fifth in The BMW at Rosehill on April 7.
