Racing: Gorgeous George on target for Brisbane Cup

BRISBANE - New Zealand trainers Peter McKenzie and Paul Jenkins are pondering whether to start Empyreal and Bazelle in next Monday's Brisbane Cup, but Frank Ritchie has no such worries about Gorgeous George.

Ritchie's horse set the pace for most of Saturday's O'Shea Stakes, finishing third, 1 1/2 lengths behind winner Mahtoum.

"I'm delighted with that," said Ritchie.

"I wanted [Gorgeous George] to lead anyway, but I wanted him to have a hard run to set him for the cup. It's been six weeks between races for him.

"I was a little concerned about Kajema forcing him to overrace a little early, but he would not have beaten the winner, anyway. He's obviously on target for the cup."

Scott Seamer, who rode Gorgeous George, has first option for the ride in the A$500,000 ($598,000) Brisbane Cup, in which the horse drops 7kg from yesterday, to 51kg.

Empyreal surprised McKenzie with his strong finish for fourth in the O'Shea Stakes and the trainer now has the dilemma of deciding whether to pay a A$27,500 late entry fee for the cup as he did not nominate him for the race in the first place.

"I was concentrating on the Caloundra Cup which he won last year and didn't really think he would be as forward as he showed today," McKenzie said.

"I will probably have to pay up now, but I would like to see some rain."

Empyreal and stablemate Sculptor, who was seventh in the Grand Prix Stakes, perform much better on wet tracks. Saturday's track was rated good.

Paul Jenkins said he would study tapes of yesterday's race before deciding on a cup start for Bazelle, who raced back in the field and then struck traffic problems in the straight before running on for eighth.

Said Jenkins: "She finished off well and has pulled up well, but I want to study the race to work out whether she has a chance of winning it before making a decision about a start."

He thought horses such as second-placed Art Success, who drops 7kg in the cup, Mahtoum and his brother Brian Jenkins' horse Desert Master, would be tough to beat in the Brisbane Cup.

If he opts out of the Brisbane Cup, other targets could be the Tatts Cup (2200m) at Eagle Farm on June 24 and the Caloundra City Cup (2400m) at the Sunshine Coast on July 1.

Jenkins was warned by stewards on Saturday to advise of any change of riding tactics. Bazelle had raced forward in the Premier's Cup the previous Saturday, but yesterday settled towards the rear.

Jenkins said he had wanted her ridden quieter on Saturday, but not as far back as she was.

O'Shea favourite Haylee Baylee boxed on well for fourth, but had her chance. Her trainer John Morell has to decide too whether to start her in the cup or tackle races like the Tatts and Caloundra Cups.

- NZPA