French jockey Gerald Mosse has added to the speculation over topweight Americain’s participation in Saturday’s $2.5 million Caulfield Cup.
While connections say they will scratch the 2010 Melbourne Cup winner on the morning of the race if the track is too hard, Mosse said he was unsure of the stayer’s general fitness.
“He’s not going to be at his best tomorrow but at least he’s going to be back to business and he should be happy to perform,” Mosse said. “I think he wants to run and he needs to run.”
Mosse said he was “very pleased” with the eight-year-old when he saw him at the Werribee quarantine centre.
“He’s got good eyes, he’s got a good body and temperament and everything looks there.
“But how fit he is going to be is a big question mark because he hasn’t run for a long time, but he looks fine and I’m happy to see him that way.”
Americain has raced just once in the past five months, finishing sixth from seven in the Group Two Kergorlay at Deauville in France.
But Mosse said the stayer’s main aim was to regain the Melbourne Cup.
“This is his preparation race,” Mosse said. “He will not be at his best but will run well and we look forward to him improving after that and being ready for the big day.”
Mosse said he would not go into the Caulfield Cup with any set tactics in mind.
“To be honest I have no plan,” he said.
“In the French way we go with the horse and not with a plan. It all depends on the way he’s going to break and a lot of things.
“It’s difficult to say what I’m going to do, it depends on the way the horse is going to be on that day on that ground.
“A lot of things will come up and I’ll figure it out when it happens.”
Mosse and Americain’s connections are hoping for a softer track on Saturday and said if it is not as they want “we are going to deal with that”.
The Melbourne Racing Club’s racecourses manager Jason Kerr said it was expected that with 10mm of irrigation following Wednesday’s Thousand Guineas meeting, the surface would be rated a Dead 4, bordering on Dead 5.
