Melbourne Cup champion Gold Trip is no certainty to race in the Caulfield Cup this weekend or the Cox Plate later this month.
The Turnbull Stakes winner is the $5.00 favourite with Unibet to capture the Group 1 Caulfield feature but speculation is rife the 6YO bay won’t jump in the 2400m staying race.
Will Gold Trip run this weekend?
— Racing.com (@Racing) October 16, 2023
Hear the latest from @cmaherracing 🗣 pic.twitter.com/aXJ0Bh5y5u
When asked if the champion stayer will race in the Caulfield and Moonee Valley features, trainer Ciaron Maher said he has yet to make a decision on Gold Trip’s status for either race.
“No I haven’t yet,’’ Maher told Racing.com.
“But he certainly worked very well today.
“He has ticked over since his Turnbull win and he seems in similar vain of form.
“He worked with his stablemate, worked over 1200m, just quickened up, very easy.”
GOLD TRIP DESTROYS THEM IN THE TURNBULL STAKES! 😱@cmaherracing pic.twitter.com/sm2ElCpebE
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 7, 2023
So, what if he missed out on the Caulfield Cup, would that rule him out of racing in the Cox Plate?
Maher said the Melbourne Cup champion would be well suited to a tilt at the Cox Plate.
“Probably just the ease of his win last start, makes you think he’s a legitimate Cox Plate horse whereas last year, he may not have been,’’ Maher said.
“So that’s sort of the deciding factor, he did the three last year, he ran well.”
Gold Trip is paying $7.00 with Unibet in Cox Plate futures markets with only Romantic Warrior ($5.00) and Alligator Blood ($6.00) ahead of the Maher stayer.
#Breaking: Gold Trip has won the 2022 Melbourne Cup.
— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) November 1, 2022
Ridden by Mark Zahra, the Ciaron Maher-trained horse beat out Emissary in second and High Emocean in third. #MelbourneCup #CupWeekOn10 #MelbCupCarnival pic.twitter.com/O30CUPDpKH