New Zealand weight-for-age star Jimmy Choux has arrived in top order for the Group One Cox Plate and will have his first look at Moonee Valley on Tuesday morning.
Trainer John Bary said the four-year-old hadn’t missed a beat on the flight across the Tasman on Sunday night and had a light workout at Flemington on Monday morning.
“He travelled extremely well,” Bary said.
“He did a nice quiet little bit of work at Flemington today and was straight into his breakfast.”
Jimmy Choux is $4.20 second favourite for the Cox Plate after three-year-old Helmet ($3.50) replaced him at the head of TAB Sportsbet’s market following last Saturday’s Caulfield Guineas win.
Peter Snowden’s Melbourne stable confirmed Helmet would also gallop at Moonee Valley for the first time on Tuesday.
“He will probably just do one lap at this stage, I would say,” said foreman Paul Snowden.
He said Helmet had recovered well from a hard Guineas run and was on track to line up in the Cox Plate.
“That’s the plan but we will monitor him and give him a bit longer to be double, double sure because he’s probably got to be better than he was in the Guineas,” Snowden said.
He said Helmet strutted around as if he was “bulletproof” and had licked his feed bin in no time on Guineas night.
“It is a good sign,” Snowden said.
“He’s very, very tough; as tough as nails.
“He’s very bright and feeling well.”
Bary said he wanted Jimmy Choux to get used to Moonee Valley before next Tuesday’s traditional Breakfast with the Stars morning at the track and the Cox Plate the following Saturday.
“We just want to make sure it is not foreign to him next week,’ Bary said.
He said Jimmy Choux’s race day jockey Jonathan Riddell would arrive at the weekend and gallop the five-time Group One winner at Flemington on Saturday morning and at the Breakfast with the Stars.
“He won’t take much (work) now he is here,” Bary said.
“Saturday is a nice chance to stretch his legs and put a bit of oxygen in his lungs and then he’ll have a short, sharp gallop on Tuesday.
“I just want give him to have a good couple of hit-outs and be able to front up Saturday week and say we’re here, ready to rumble, with no excuses.”
Jimmy Choux won the New Zealand Derby and the Rosehill Guineas last autumn and from three starts this campaign at Group One has won his last two – the Windsor Park (1600m) and the Spring Classic (2040m) at Hastings.
Also at Moonee Valley on Tuesday morning will be the Gai Waterhouse-trained Caulfield Cup winner Descarado, who won last Saturday’s Caulfield Stakes, and her unplaced Toorak Handicap runner Fast Clip.
Sincero, the Lloyd Williams-owned trio Efficient, Linton and Midas Touch, also have Moonee Valley gallops scheduled.
Meanwhile, Rick Hore-Lacy has abandoned the Victoria Derby campaign of Chase The Rainbow and he will be spelled after his unplaced run in the Caulfield Guineas.
Another Guineas failure, Smart Missile, will have a freshen-up with 10 days on a water walker before Anthony Cummings decides whether to push on with his spring campaign.
Trainer Jake Stephens informed Racing Victoria stewards on Monday that Alcopop would miss the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate and would be freshened after he finished last in the Caulfield Stakes.
AAP TURF
