3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes following the TAB Australian Cup Prelude is won by Young Werther at Flemington on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Young Wherther (Damian Lane/Danny O'Brien) - $2.35F
2nd: Berkeley Square (Luke Currie/Dan O'Sullivan) - $4.40
3rd: Esti Feny (Mark Zahra/Matthew Smith) - $41
Winning Time: 1:50.46 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: 2½L x Long Neck
Too classy!
— Racing.com (@Racing) March 9, 2024
Young Werther went to the front & was far too strong for them over 1800m @DOBrienRacing @LaneDamian pic.twitter.com/zLa1CUq3Hw
Winning Trainer: Danny O'Brien
"He's been in tremendous form since the spring and you really can't find a bad run.
Has been tackling strong company: "His third start in a race was a third in the Derby and got beaten a short-half-head in the Australian Derby and here he is still presenting as a six-year-old and running well."
Was the plan to lead: "The way the race set up for him and at the weights he was clearly the class horse in the race so we didn't want to get caught in any traffic there in the small field so we were happy for him to lead and he made it a genuine gallop.
"If they were going to catch him (then) they were made to work hard."
Australian Cup next: "Three weeks time is perfect and get back to Flemington to the 2000-metres. We thought he was very stiff here in the Champions Stakes on the final day of the carnival so it would be nice if he would win one of those nice group ones here."
Winning Jockey: Damian Lane
"He was great. I've ridden him many times and it is the first time I've been able to win on him.
"In my defense, his winning strike rate isn't great but he's always racing at a high level and he really got in well in the weights today and with a good fitness building run under his belt at Caulfield, I was able to rake luck out of the equation and ride him like the best horse."
Suited to Flemington 1800 and 2000: "He certainly finds the line, whether he's done enough trackwork around here and he knows exactly when to switch on - I'm not sure.
"He does love it here and hopefully he can repeat the effort in a few weeks time in the Australian Cup."
