Excelleration is a horse in form and with a jockey who is just the same, trainer Richard Cully is hoping those positives continue as his seven-year-old galloper steps up to the two miles of the Group 2 Adelaide Cup on Monday.
For Cully, taking on a race over 3200-metres is an achievement in itself as he has been trying ‘for years’ to get Excelleration up to such a trip.
Despite that effort, the niggle for Cully is whether Excelleration will be able to stay the distance, though that doubt might be seeded by the many attempts to get him there.
“The distance is a bit of a question mark but there have been a few bumps in the road trying to get out to it,” Cully said.
“Trying to get him to have three or four runs in a prep to get him out there in trip (has been difficult) but I don’t think it will bother him.
“He hasn’t had injuries along the way but little things like an operation for a growth on his throat, then he banged a tendon which didn’t do any damage but he had to have time off, and as a young horse he went off in the float so he had six months off after that.”
Cully was unable to be in Tasmania to witness Excelleration provide him with his training career highlight to date when winning the Group 3 Launceston Cup (2400m).
Bushfires at the time put his Ballarat base at risk but luck was similarly in on that front as the wind direction changed with the blaze approaching just two kilometres from his property.
Harry Coffey retains the ride and has the challenge of breaking a 15-year drought for Launceston Cup winners parlaying success in the Adelaide feature with Zavite the last to complete the double in 2009.
The Phillip Stokes-trained Amade is the Adelaide Cup topweight with 58-kilos while Excelleration has been allotted 53.5-kilos – an advantage that Cully is happy to take.
“He does need to race to relax but he has the ability.
“The light weight will really help him as the first 600 or 800-metres that will tell the tale.
“I don’t think he’ll relax but he’ll need to just enough not to overrace.”
Amade is at $5.50 across markets with betting apps while Excelleration is $8.50.
Fresh from her victory in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on Saturday, Jamie Kah returns to her home state to ride the $2.50 bookmakers favourite The Map.
