Promising stayer Deakin on track for Adelaide Cup

Promising stayer Deakin remains on track for next month’s Adelaide Cup, with trainer Phillip Stokes fine-tuning the gelding’s preparation. The five-year-old recently sharpened up with a jumpout at Pakenham ahead of his next race-day challenge.

Stokes explained that Deakin needed the workout to maintain his fitness after finishing second in a Benchmark 100 handicap at Flemington last month. His next target is the Torney Night Cup (2500m) at The Valley next week.

Having trained past Adelaide Cup winners Good Idea (2021) and Daqiansweet Junior (2022), Stokes believes Deakin is following a similar path to the latter.

“He’s going really well,” Stokes said. “It’s been four weeks between runs, so we just thought we’d give him a tick-over jumpout.

“He’s going to go to the Torney Cup on Friday week at The Valley and then he’ll go to the Adelaide Cup, all things being well.

“He probably fits the mould of Daqiansweet Junior, who went from the Torney Cup into the Adelaide Cup.”

Previously trained in Ireland by Joseph O’Brien, Deakin has impressed since joining Stokes’ stable. He secured a 2000m victory in December and has also won over 2500m, making him a strong contender for the upcoming staying features.

Stokes added that Deakin still has plenty of improvement left in him. “What excites me most about this horse is that he’s still a preparation away, he’s still got some maturing to do, so for his first preparation here in Australia, he’s done better than (I was) expecting.”

Deakin might not be Stokes’ only runner in the Adelaide Cup, as stablemate Taramansour, a recent Listed placegetter, is also under consideration.