The Doomben Cup has been a long-range goal for Vauban, and with the horse as well as his trainers can get him, Tim Clark is banking on the import’s staying prowess to be an asset in his clash with star mare Pride Of Jenni.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott opted to put Vauban on ice following his Tancred Stakes (2400m) placing behind Aeliana and Dubai Honour in March and aim towards Saturday’s Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) and next month’s Q22 (2200m).
They probably weren’t banking on the presence of Pride Of Jenni, who broke the hearts of her rivals last start when dominating throughout in the Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at the Gold Coast.
Clark has the job of judging how best to ride Vauban against the free-running mare, and admitted it’s a tricky balancing act.
“She strings them along and she makes it interesting, that’s for sure,” Clark said.
“She puts the pressure on you a long way from home, so it’s a matter of trying to time when to start trying to chip into that lead and bridge back that margin.
“They couldn’t run her down a couple of weeks ago at the Gold Coast. Hopefully, we can be in touch with her at some point and get over the top of her.
“Track conditions are going to play a big part as well, and how testing that ground is. She has been an incredible mare and I’m looking forward to seeing what Vauban can do against her on Saturday.”
Doomben was in the heavy range on Thursday and all seven Cup runners have either won or placed in similar conditions.
While Vauban heads into the race off a two-month break between runs, he has been kept up to speed with a barrier trial and exhibition gallop, and his Sydney autumn carnival formlines are strong.
“He’s got his quirks, but his two performances in the autumn were fantastic,” Clark said.
“He reacts well on the fresh side, he’s had a tick over trial and exhibition gallop. He has been up in Queensland for a few weeks now and settled in, and getting his toe in on a softer track will help him as well, so there are plenty of positives.”
Clark will also ride Tomato Toastie for Waterhouse and Bott in the Magic Millions Fillies and Mares Plate (1600m) and is quietly confident she will handle her first test over a mile.
The three-year-old was stakes placed over 1400m at the Gold Coast last start and won her only appearance on heavy ground.
“She gave the indication the other day she might be looking for that bit of additional ground,” Clark said.
“She’s going to appreciate a soft track on Saturday and from a good draw with a light weight, even though the mile is a question mark, she gets a chance to run it out strongly with the set-up she’s got.”
Clark’s book is rounded out by the Kris Lees-trained Crathie Kirk in The Roses (2000m) and Midnight Dynamite for Bjorn Baker in the BRC Sprint (1350m).
