The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained Gold Trip hasn’t quite established a love affair with Australian racing yet … but, overall, Maher is happy with the way the French import is progressing.
The six-year-old entire’s last two runs overseas resulted in two successive placed finishes in Group 1 company in France in May and July 2021 … after which he had been lined up for a crack at the 2021 Cox Plate, from which he was controversially scratched after examinations by no less than six veterinarians on behalf of Racing Victoria over the two day period leading into the big race determined, ‘that the lameness displayed by the horse was not at an acceptable level to pass a pre-race veterinary inspection.’
Both Maher and Eustace were at odds with that decision, but they had no recourse and Gold Trip was duly scratched from the race.
It would in fact take more than a year after his last run in France before Gold Trip would taste race action in Australia, and that local debut run came on July 30 at Rosehill where the son of Outstrip finished third in the Listed Winter Challenge behind the very useful Cross Talk over 1500 … an eye-catching run in itself over a distance well short of his best.
It seemed that Gold Trip’s Spring Carnival preparation was soundly underway this time with another tilt at the Cox Plate, for which he is currently quoted at $17 by Ladbrokes, firmly in the stable’s sights, but Gold Trips schedule incurred another setback when he was scratched from his proposed second up run at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
“He picked something up,” Maher told Racing.com. “He’s very forward in condition, so he’ll just have a couple of easy weeks and he should be right to go” … adding an important message about his well credentialed runner … “it shouldn’t impede his spring.”
This is one horse whose progress could be worth following with a keen interest.
