Charlie Fellowes planning return trip to Australia with Golden Eagle hopeful.
It has taken Charlie Fellowes a few years to get his hands on a horse to bring him back to Australia, but the English trainer is convinced he has found one in Luther.
As such, Fellowes is likely to make return later this year.
But he won’t be heading to Melbourne, where Fellowes campaigned for several seasons with Prince Of Arran, instead Sydney with last weekend’s controversial Saratoga winner Luther added to the list of possible internationals in the $10 million Golden Eagle.
“I love these types of horses that can travel,” Fellowes said.
“They can be real money-earners; Prince Of Arran won £2.3 million in prize money (in Melbourne).
“I’ve been looking for a horse to travel for a while and I think this fella is probably ideal.
“He’s been on the go a bit so we’ll come back (to England) and we’ll either consider going out to Del Mar at the end of the year for the Breeders’ Cup or, and I’d say at this stage it’s probably more likely, that we might look at something like the Golden Eagle down in Australia.
“It’s worth 10 million Aussie dollars and I think seven-and-a-half furlongs down in Australia is absolutely perfect for him.
“He’s not slow and the tracks over there will really suit him.”
The 1500-metre Golden Eagle will be run at Rosehill on Saturday, November 1.
Fellowes hasn’t had a runner in Australia since Prince Of Arran’s luckless third placing in the 2020 Melbourne Cup, which was his third top-three finish in Australia’s most famous race.
Prince Of Arran also won a Geelong Cup and Hotham Handicap, was twice placed in the Herbert Power Stakes and finished fourth in the 2020 Caulfield Cup.
Luther, who was second over the line in the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga, was promoted to victory after Zulu Kingdom was relegated to fourth for causing interference in the 1609m event.
It was the biggest win for the son of Frankel and third success from nine starts, coming after a third placing in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby (1811m).
Luther was not the only galloper trained in England who booked a trip to Sydney at the weekend with William Haggas outlining plans to travel south with Sam Hawkens, who was a winner at Goodwood on Saturday.
The master trainer, who has enjoyed outstanding results in Sydney in recent seasons, is eyeing the $500,000 Group 3 ATC St Leger Stakes (2600m) with the four-year-old son of Galileo.
“I think he’ll go to Australia. We’ve booked a place in quarantine on the 5th of September, and the race is on the 18th of October, so I think we’ll go now,” Haggas said.
Sam Hawkens was a half-length winner of the Coral Summer Handicap (2816m), which was the four-year-old’s fourth win from 11 starts.
