Horse racing: Melbourne Cup stage awaits Positive

“They gave her a 24-hour grace period before trying again later on Friday, but she still wasn’t 100% right, so we decided to skip that race, which probably set her back a bit on her path to the Moonee Valley Gold Cup .

“It wasn’t her best performance there, but she had to work hard beforehand to stay outside the very high speed limit, I think it may have even been a race record. The leader stopped and had to drag the field up. She boxed well, but the effort she put in early in the race took its toll on her late run.

“I thought that given the circumstances leading up to it and the way the race unfolded, the race had a lot of merit.”

Preparing for her first attempt at the two miles (3.2km), Positivity received two public appearances this week in Flemington and Werribee, both of which pleased Forsman.

“She rode well around the Flemington track on Tuesday morning and got a good result there,” he said.

“She went to Werribee for a show gallop between races on Friday, which was her last leg of fast work, then Winona Costin came in and gave her some pace at three-quarters this morning.

“She’s quite ready to go.”

Kostin was due to ride Positive in the Caulfield Cup and will be given the opportunity again on Tuesday when the mare breaks barrier 20 and will carry just 50kg.

“We were hoping for a better depiction of the barrier, but there’s not much we can do about it now,” Forsman said.

“She will need a little luck but the main thing is to find a little shelter, hopefully she can calm down and relax well. When you first run two miles, you want to give them every chance to complete the ride.”

Forsman has extensive experience of major races in Australia, having won events such as the Caulfield Cup, the Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m) and the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m), partnering Murray Baker, and he emphasized the difficulty of the race. like Melbourne Cup gifts.

“It’s great, even though the planning and preparation wasn’t perfect, it’s still great to be a part of it,” he said.

“You know going into the Melbourne Cup you can never be too sure, it’s a big field and you need a lot of luck. In addition, you also need to check if your horse can handle two miles.

“In a race like this you have to change a lot.”

– LOVERACING.NZ News Service