KEY POINTS:
New Zealand galloper Red Ruler, who runs in the Mackinnon Stakes on Saturday, is an unlikely runner in the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, trainer John Sargent indicated yesterday.
Corey Brown, who rode Red Ruler into sixth in the Caulfield Cup, rides him on Saturday but has accepted the mount on English raider Bauer for the Cup.
"He's probably a year away from getting the two miles [3200m] and I said to Corey if you've been offered a good ride in the Cup, which he has, to take it," Sargent told radio station 2KY yesterday.
"It's a different story, two miles with the older horses, and he's only been racing for just over a year.
"We might take him to the Sandown Classic this time."
Brown said he expected a gear change to have a positive impact on Red Ruler in the weight-for-age Mackinnon (2000m) at Flemington.
"His work has been strong and the blinkers are off and I think that will make a big difference to him," Brown said.
"He's a very good horse on his day and, with a bit of luck, hopefully we see him at his best on Saturday.
"He was a little bit keen in the Caulfield Cup but the gear change will sort him out."
With yesterday's withdrawal of last year's winner Efficient and the expected defection of Red Ruler, Bauer is in the 24-horse Cup field but Brown could still be in for an anxious wait as the winner of Saturday's Saab Quality (2500m) is guaranteed a Cup start and could still leapfrog the English raider.
Brown admitted to being surprised by how well his Melbourne Cup mount Bauer travelled in a gallop at Sandown yesterday.
The Luca Cumani-trained Geelong Cup winner worked alongside stablemate and second favourite for the Cup, Mad Rush, who finished an eye-catching fourth in the Caulfield Cup.
"It was a nice surprise this morning," Brown said. "He's a typical English stayer and was a lot more relaxed than I expected him to be after watching his winning run in the Geelong Cup.
"I'm not sure what Damien Oliver said about Mad Rush after the hitout but I couldn't split them, he really held his own and I'm rapt to be on him."
Bauer, who was ridden by Oliver in his Geelong Cup triumph last week, has never raced over Tuesday's distance of 3200 metres but that is of no concern to Brown.
"I've got no doubt on his work that with cover in the running he'll get the trip," Brown said.
Brown is now based in Sydney, but rode many Flemington winners when stable rider for Victoria's leading trainer Lee Freedman until late last year.
- AAP
