Thursday, 28 September 2006:
South Australian Oaks winner Dream The Dream will be trying to make up for lost time in Saturday's Ansett Classic at Mornington after her Melbourne Cup plans were derailed by missing a run at the abandoned Sandown meeting last Sunday.
Trainer Jamie Edwards said the Melbourne Racing Club's inaction in dealing with an existing problem with the Sandown running rail when high winds prevailed may have cost the four-year-old mare any chance of making it to the Cup.
Dream The Dream was to have run second-up over 1800 metres in the St Razzle Hcp but Edwards said that with the meeting called off after two races for safety reasons he was now forced to jump her from 1400m metres to 2000m at Mornington.
"It is very difficult because she hasn't been trained to do that," Edwards said.
"Missing last Sunday now means I am one run short with her so it probably all but cancels out any chance of her making the Melbourne Cup.
"To get her to the Melbourne Cup I now have to slip another run into her somewhere and it all depends on how she pulls up from Mornington on Saturday whether I can do that."
Edwards had planned to run Dream The Dream at Sandown and in the Benalla Cup (2300m) on October 8 before the Winning Edge Presentation Stakes (2400m) at Caulfield on October 14.
"Ideally I wanted to go through the Winning Edge but now she is probably not going to get a run," Edwards said.
Edwards was scathing in his criticism of the MRC who he believes would have found a solution earlier to the running rail problem had the situation arose at Caulfield the previous day when the Group One Underwood Stakes and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes were run.
"The stewards made the right the decision and the jockeys had no choice in their decision but I guarantee a solution would have been found by the MRC very quickly if it had been Saturday at Caulfield and not Sunday at Sandown," Edwards said.
"It was major thing that had happened before at Sandown with the rail, but a solution wasn't found and how someone hasn't lost their job or something over it I don't know."
Edwards said the abandonment of the meeting impacted on other clubs and their race meetings, including the Benalla Cup which he claims has lost three runners including Dream The Dream.
The winner of four of her nine starts, Dream The Dream has thrilled Edwards with her strong track gallops at Geelong.
"I have never had a horse getting ready for a Melbourne Cup before but if any of the other Cup horses are working as good as her I would be surprised," Edwards said.
He said if he could get Dream The Dream back on track she could contest either the Geelong Cup (2400m) on October 25 or the Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) on October 28.
"She will be ridden quiet at Mornington so she can get home and if she gets home hard either the Geelong Cup or Moonee Valley Cup is there for her," he said.
Providing Dream The Dream gets to that point she will run in the Group Three Saab Quality (2500m) at Flemington on Derby Day before connections decide whether to hand over $41,250 to declare her a final acceptor for the Melbourne Cup.
