Jamie Melham has been secured to ride Blind Raise in the Group 1 Cox Plate, with trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young moving quickly to book the lightweight jockey following the gelding’s impressive performance at Caulfield.
Blind Raise enhanced his Cox Plate credentials with a gallant second behind Warwoven in Saturday’s Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, prompting connections to make immediate arrangements for a possible tilt at the weight-for-age championship.
As a three-year-old gelding, Blind Raise will carry just 49.5kg in the 2040-metre feature, which will be staged at Flemington on October 24.
Blake Shinn has partnered Blind Raise in all three starts this preparation, including his victories in the McKenzie Stakes and Caulfield Guineas Prelude, but is unable to make the light weight required for the Cox Plate.
That has opened the door for Melham, who already has experience riding a three-year-old at 49.5kg in Australia’s premier weight-for-age contest.
She partnered the James Cummings-trained Broadsiding in the 2024 Cox Plate, finishing third behind Via Sistina and Prognosis while carrying the same weight Blind Raise has been allocated this year.
Despite securing Melham’s services, Busuttin and Young are yet to make a final commitment to running Blind Raise in the Cox Plate.
Young said the stable would monitor how the gelding recovers from his Caulfield Guineas effort before deciding whether to press ahead with the ambitious assignment.
“We’ll see how he pulls up; he’s got to come through it in good order,” Young told Racing.com.
A final decision is expected in the coming days, with Blind Raise potentially stepping up to 2040 metres against older horses just a fortnight after his Caulfield Guineas performance.
