By MIKE DILLON
Able Master became the latest Auckland Cup hope without a rider when Grant Cooksley was yesterday suspended for two riding days.
Cooksley was suspended for careless riding after his ride on Carter in Sunday's $350,000 Sleepyhead Derby at Ellerslie.
But Able Master's trainer Bruce Wallace has not given up getting Cooksley in the saddle on January 1.
"I'll be declaring Grant as his rider, there is always the possibility of him appealing that suspension."
Wallace believes such a suspension at this time of year inconveniences the connections of horses in group one races more than it does the jockeys.
"I know you have to cop what comes your way in racing, but this close to a major race like the Auckland Cup if you have to go to the bottom of the list it makes it a bit tough."
Cooksley is undecided what he will do about the suspension.
Neither he nor Wallace were disappointed with Able Master's fifth in yesterday's $22,500 Nathans Memorial at Ellerslie.
Able Master sprinted at the leaders at the 375m, but his fitness in the closing stages let him down and Cooksley did not punish him and the pair finished fifth, 4.5 lengths from the winner Dandy Dancer.
"That was his first start since the Melbourne Cup and he can only improve with it.
"Most trainers have already got their horses ready for the Cup and are only just ticking them over, but we are still training this horse.
"He will improve a huge amount with this run."
Cooksley saw the same improvement in the horse.
"He raced a bit fresh for him. He sprinted well, but he couldn't keep going in the final 120m."
Seasquill went into the race having to justify his spot in the Auckland Cup after being hampered by a blood disorder following the Waikato Cup in mid-December. He ran home strongly into second and trainers Graeme Rogerson and Keith Hawtin were delighted.
"That will improve him a great deal," said Hawtin.
"Just in the last four or five days he's started to come back to his best form."
The stable was hoping to get Vinny Colgan to ride Seasquill, but Colgan took the Mulqueen ride when that horse's original rider Trudy Collett landed on Rijeka after Lance O'Sullivan withdrew his appeal against a one-month suspension.
Racing: Wallace confident Cooksley will ride Able Master
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