Cedarberg will not get the chance to prove himself at 3200 metres until the spring with trainer Pat Carey electing to start him in Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.
Carey has resisted the temptation to go for Saturday’s Sydney Cup on the same card despite Cedarberg having the luxury of the minimum weight of 51kg.
Mornington-based Carey decided to drop the Helenus gelding back in distance to the 2000m feature following his win at weight for age in the BMW (2400m) at Rosehill where he beat Mourayan and Linton.
Two starts back the four-year-old ran a pleasing seventh, beaten 4-4-1/4 lengths, behind Shocking in the Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 12.
The BMW was his fifth run this preparation.
“I thought he had some excuses not to finish closer (in the Australian Cup) which gave us heart to go to Sydney and he was a pretty fit racehorse when he ran in the BMW,” Carey said.
“He took on a lot of those horses up there who only had the two runs under their belt and I think it provided him with an opportunity.”
After the Queen Elizabeth, Cedarberg will go to the paddock for a spell and Carey will be looking to the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in the spring.
“We’ll get through next week and then we’ll have a look at where we sit after that,” Carey said.
“He hasn’t raced over two miles (3200m) but he was pretty strong at the end of the BMW.
“He obviously runs a very strong mile-and-a-half (2400m) and there’s plenty of time to find out if he can run two miles.”
Ranvet Stakes winner Zavite will also be missing from the Cup with trainer Anthony Cummings taking the same option as Carey.
Zavite finished eighth in the BMW, five lengths from Cedarberg, and his absence means Sydney Cup weights will go up 2-1/2 kilograms.
AAP TURF
