More starting point than destination race for stablemates Vauban and Sir Delius, the Chelmsford Stakes is still expected to provide important insights for their trainers as they plot the pair’s respective paths towards the Melbourne Cup.
The duo will resume in Saturday’s 1600m feature at Randwick, the shortest distance either horse has competed over in their international and local careers.
A Group 3 winner in France, Sir Delius posted an impressive 2000m win at Doomben in his only start for the stable in May, while Vauban managed a Group 3 win and Group 1 placing in three autumn runs for the Waterhouse/Bott team.
Bott is looking forward to their returns and while he expects them to find a few rivals too slick in the Chelmsford Stakes (1600m), he hopes to get a better guide on how to best plot their Melbourne Cup build-ups.
“They have trialled up really well respectively going into it,” Bott said.
“It’s fair to say the mile is probably going to be a bit short for them both first-up but I feel they’re set for nice campaigns.
“They’re in really good order and they can run a nice race fresh but no doubt it’s still a long way from their main targets and they are much better suited going over a bit further.”
Sir Delius and Vauban share the second line of early Melbourne Cup (3200m) betting at $11, Vauban having contested the past two renewals for Irish trainer Willie Mullins and finishing worse than midfield both times.
While the barn mates will clash at Randwick, Bott is looking to keep them apart at their next run with Vauban earmarked to remain in Sydney while Sir Delius is likely to head south.
“Sir Delius will most likely head straight down to Melbourne and there are a few different options we can take within those paths, depending on what we see first-up and where we feel we need to get to in order to get to the Melbourne Cup,” he said.
Despite Bott’s distance reservations, Sir Delius is a $4 second pick for the Chelmsford with the bookies markets dominated by even money favourite Ceolwulf.
Vauban is a $11 elect.
