KEY POINTS:
Levin trainer Peter McKenzie didn't miss the Nightmarch omen after a Brisbane Cup-bound Sculptor won the Trentham Gold Cup on Saturday.
"I hope Sculptor can run as well in the Melbourne Cup as the last winner of this race did," McKenzie said at the prizegiving ceremony after Sculptor had easily beaten A Great Life by just under four lengths.
The Wellington Racing Club was holding its first renewal of the Trentham Gold Cup since Nightmarch won it in 1931. Nightmarch was a Melbourne Cup winner, downing the mighty Phar Lap in 1929.
McKenzie might have a long-term look at the Melbourne Cup, but his concentration at present is on the group two Brisbane Cup at Eagle Farm on June 11 and Sculptor showed he was right on target for his main winter target.
The even-money favourite ($2) justified the backing of supporters, leading all the way over the 2200m test on a slow Trentham track.
"He had a bit in hand too," jockey Chris Johnson told McKenzie on unsaddling.
Johnson will ride Sculptor in the cup and on Saturday's performance he will be a threat, as he attempts to improve on his third in the race last year, albeit over 3200m that time.
McKenzie said the reduced distance of 2400m this year will suit Sculptor, who has filled out and strengthened in the past year.
He said the track on Saturday was softer than the dead going that Sculptor prefers, but it proved no handicap to him. "He did gallop beautifully all the way and Chris rode him perfectly."
McKenzie immediately scotched any plans to run in the $50,000 Cornwall Handicap (2200m) at Ellerslie on Saturday, though stablemate Empyreal, scratched on Saturday, will run in that event.
He said he withdrew Empyreal because he wasn't quite 100 per cent and he "didn't think he could beat Sculptor".
The plan is to take both Sculptor and Empyreal to Queensland, with Empyreal to attempt a third successive win in the listed Caloundra Cup (2400m).
They are due to fly to Brisbane on June 7 and could possibly be joined by Lord Monty, who won his third race in a row in taking out the Stella Artois Mile (rating 92) over 1600m.
While Lord Monty had paid for his air fare with Saturday's win, McKenzie said he was still undecided, because if the weather stayed fine in Brisbane, the horse could be adversely affected by hard tracks.
Lord Monty had now won five from 13 races, for nearly $93,000 in stakemoney.
- NZPA
