Trainer Brian Smith faces an an anxious couple of weeks hoping Lord Mayor’s Cup winner Order Again can gain a Stradbroke Handicap start.
Order Again ($5.50) won the Group Three Lord Mayor’s Cup (1600m) by three quarters of a length to notch his fourth success at Eagle Farm, cementing his reputation as a track specialist.
Perennial placegetter Tom Melbourne, the $2.80 favourite, made a brave bid for an all-the-way win with Le Juge ($7.50) a length away third.
Smith is hoping Order Again’s win will improve his handicap rating enough for him to gain a start in the Group One $1.5 million Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 8.
“My old boss trained Yahabeebee when she ran second to a two-year-old filly called Wiggle in the Stradbroke and it’s a race I’ve always wanted to win,” Smith said.
“I was hoping this race would make him exempt for the Stradbroke but unfortunately it’s not so I’m just hoping he can sneak into it.
“He reminds me a lot of that grey horse Linton who flashed home along the fence to win the Stradbroke a few years ago.”
As a three-year-old Order Again won the Grand Prix on a heavy track at Eagle Farm when the surface attracted a barrage of criticism which forced its closure to undergo another renovation.
“A lot of horses had trouble on the track that day and he staggered when he came in after the race but he’s come back and redeemed himself at Eagle Farm,” he said.
Order Again was rated a $101 chance in the Stradbroke but his priced has been trimmed to $51 by TAB Fixed Odds.
