Last year’s Geelong Cup winner Onesmoothoperator will no longer target back-to-back wins in the race.
Following the postponement of the bulk of the Geelong Cup meeting yesterday (now rescheduled for today), trainer Brian Ellison has opted to scratch Onesmoothoperator from the Geelong Cup and switch the target to the Moonee Valley Gold Cup on Friday.
Like the Geelong Cup, the Moonee Valley Gold Cup offers the winner direct entry into the Melbourne Cup.
This change of race plan also comes with a change of jockey.
With Craig Williams, who would have ridden Onesmoothoperator in the Geelong Cup, committed to Braydan Star at Moonee Valley, Mark Zahra now takes the ride on the Ellison-trained runner.