KEY POINTS:
New South Wales trainer Bede Murray warns New Zealanders not to take the latest form of Coniston Bluebird literally in Saturday's $100,000 Telecom Championship Stakes at Ellerslie.
Coniston Bluebird is here for the $2.2 million Telecom Derby on February 27 and Murray expects the horse to have more credibility after his New Zealand debut this week.
He says the fifth and third placings in his last two starts don't reflect the true qualities of his young stayer.
Three starts back Coniston Bluebird won over 2100m at Warwick Farm.
Immediately Murray started thinking about the $2.2 million of the NZ Derby and decided to geld Coniston Bluebird before his 3-year-old season.
"His first run back [December 27] for third was very good and you could just forget the other run since.
"It was a sit and sprint race and when the sprint came he got back and wasn't able to make ground under his 59.5kg.
"He gave the winner 5.5kg and in analysing the run, I thought it was good."
Murray said he rated Coniston Bluebird a Derby-type horse after his first two juvenile runs last season.
"He's always looked that sort of horse and I'm happy with where I am with him."
Ellerslie can be a tricky course for any horse to cope with for the first time and riders with experience are important as well.
Murray has engaged Queensland jockey Scott Seamer for Saturday and the Derby.
"Glen Collis, who usually rides him, is required for one of my horses in Sydney on Derby day so I needed a jockey who could handle this bloke in both races.
"I chose Scotty because he's won a Derby for me [Queensland Derby on Half Hennessey] and he's won a Derby at Ellerslie.
"He'll know the important decisions to make."
Murray is perhaps best known to New Zealanders for the wrong reasons.
He is constantly among the winners, but the greatest publicity he has generated is when his best racehorse Universal Prince was scratched under controversial circumstances from the 2001 Melbourne Cup.
Amid rumours all was not well with Universal Prince, Racing Victoria officials vetted the horse every day in the week leading up to the Cup and finally forced his withdrawal.
Infuriated, Bede Murray launched viciously into Racing Victoria in the national media.
Murray refused to go to Flemington on Cup day and the story and photos of him watching the race from the public bar of a South Melbourne hotel gained nearly as much publicity as the Cup winner Ethereal.
"Yes, that will always be my biggest disappointment in racing," said Murray, probably regretting the subject being raised. "It generated a lot of bad publicity, most of which I wish I'd never seen."
The New Zealand TAB currently has Coniston Bluebird at $12 for the Derby.
And talking to Bede Murray, you get the impression he'll be surprised if that's available after Saturday.
At first glance the barrier draw for the Championship Stakes looks like a horror show, but it's not as bad as it looks.
Fancied runners drawn wide include Easy Ryder (gate 19) Le Baron (15) I Robot (21) Fears Nothing (18) and Izonit (20).
But the emergencies have drawn 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10, which means if the field remains intact all the above barriers will reduce by six digits.
Sufficient, who needs a big performance to guarantee a Derby start, has drawn No 2. The first four are exempt from the Derby ballot.
TELECOM CHAMPIONSHIP STAKES (GROUP II) $100,000, 3yo hcp, 1 88351 Court Ruler d (14) 56 (90). 2 61135 Coniston Bluebird d (9) 56 (86) S Seamer. 3 59X12 Sufficient t (2) 56 (84) L. Innes. 4 8211 Easy Ryder (19) 56 (80) M. Cameron. 5 23118 Le Baron tcd (15) 56 (80) J. McDonald. 6 12132 The Meista b (7) 56 (80) C. Johnson. 7 51523 Down The Road (11) 56 (79) M. Coleman. 8 X3144 I Robot t (21) 56 (79). 9 07535 Heza Karma Karzi (13) 56 (78) J. Waddell. 10 41806 Takeanotherchance m (8) 56 (77)
C. Ormsby (a). 11 63413 Fears Nothing (18) 56 (76) D. Johnson. 12 18596 Moveovr m (16) 56 (75) T. Harris. 13 40357 Izonit (20) 56 (74) A Calder. 14 10617 The Spaniard (17) 56 (74) R. Hannam. 15 41178 Skirmish m (12) 54.5 (74) C. Lammas. 16 811 Gallant (3) 56 (74) N. Collett (a). 17 427X3 My Scotsgrey mb (4) 56 (73). 18 02910 Carchelo (1) 56 (73). 19 28799 Spontaneous (10) 56 (69). 20 3160 Diamond Glitter (6) 56 (67). 21 383 Sun Ruler b (5) 56 (56). Emergencies: Gallant, My Scotsgrey, Carchelo, Spontaneous, Diamond Glitter, Sun Ruler.
$100,000 STAKES
* Coniston Bluebird will give an indication whether he can take the $2.2 million Derby back to Australia when he runs at Ellerslie on Saturday.
* Trainer Bede Murray says the 3-year-old is a better chance than his form reads.
* Queensland jockey Scott Seamer, a frequent visitor here, takes the ride.
