Picture: Steve Hart
Freshened after the Caulfield Cup, Eliyass is again to his favorite journey within the Champions Stakes at Flemington.
Having centred their spring ideas across the Melbourne Cup with Eliyass, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott determined to alter course after contesting one other spring characteristic.
Now the Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday is the main target for Eliyass.
French-bred and having accomplished his early racing within the nation of his delivery, Eliyass joined the Waterhouse and Bott steady late final yr.
Elliyass was not produced till midyear when stepped out over 2000m, a visit he was profitable over at Rosehill in June with victories additionally coming within the Group 3 Premier’s Cup and Group 3 Kingston City Stakes, each at that journey.
That made it three wins from as many begins on the journey, and rightly, or wrongly, connections began having ideas of the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups with the gelding.
Elliyass confirmed these desires have been well-placed when he stepped out on a moist monitor at Flemington and chased residence By way of Sistina and Buckaroo within the Turnbull Stakes (2000m).
From there it was Caulfield Cup certain, and with good purpose, however after monitoring the pace, Eliyass weakened within the run residence to complete seventh, virtually 10-½ lengths astern of the winner.
That run satisfied Waterhouse and Bott that stretching Eliyass to 3200m of the Melbourne Cup at this stage of profession was not the fitting course to be heading.
“We had him on a Melbourne Cup path, however after the Caulfield Cup run, we simply felt it may not be the fitting stage, so we’ve determined to carry him again to that 2000 metres,” Bott mentioned.
“He’d clearly been very efficient at that journey earlier than, and also you return to his run within the Turnbull and his kind had been the fitting kind going into it and I assumed he was excellent on that day.
“We thought it most likely wasn’t the fitting timing to be pushing onto the Melbourne Cup at that stage of his profession after the Caulfield Cup, so trying on the different choices that have been round for him, this seemed to be a logical goal.”
Within the time since Eliyass contested the Caulfield Cup, Bott mentioned the gelding had freshened up properly for Saturday’s assault.
Journeys to the seaside and a gallop at ‘Breakfast with the Finest’ final week has the gelding able to run effectively and hopefully flip the tables on By way of Sistina.
“We’ve had loads of time for the reason that Caulfield Cup to freshen him and we made the choice fairly rapidly off the again of that run,” Bott mentioned.
“That allowed us the prospect to carry him again and freshen him up.”
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