The hopes of Victorian trainer Cliff Brown winning one of Australia’s biggest handicaps were dealt a blow by the barrier draw.
Brown saddles Sepals (barrier 21) and Von Hauke (19) in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday and concedes the pair’s chances from those barriers does not read well.
Should the emergencies not gain a start on Saturday, Sepals will start from barrier 17 while Von Hauke will be next to his stablemate in gate 16.
Brown said both horses enter Saturday’s race in excellent physical condition, but naturally the barriers are a major concern.
One good piece of news for the trainer was the rain had stopped in Brisbane, and the track was rated a Heavy 8 on Thursday morning and if it stays away there is likely to be further improvement.
A Group 1 winner in the spring, Sepals will be having his third run of the campaign and is coming off a last start 14th in the Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) on May 30.
Again, a poor barrier that day, 15 of 16, saw Sepals caught wide under Lachlan Neindorf.
“He was nine weeks between runs, six-wide, no cover, and he got a bump at one point which fired him up,” Brown said.
“The whole thing was a train wreck and Lachie looked after him in the last 100 (metres). He’d done enough.
“I thought to turn, and then put himself there in the straight, it was a massive effort.”
While successful twice on Soft ground and chasing home Autumn Glow on a Soft 7 track in The Golden Eagle at Randwick last spring, Brown believes the gelding’s chances are improved the drier the track gets.
“I just think if it’s a shifty surface, he hates it,” Brown said.
“His second up run in Sydney, I still can’t work out what happened there and I think it was the track.”
If the Stradbroke becomes a war of attrition, Brown believes Von Hauke could be there at the business end, despite the barrier.
Like his stablemate, Von Hauke would prefer Saturday’s race to be on top of the ground, but Brown also knows the gelding will be strong at the line.
Von Hauke won over 1600m two starts back and was eye-catching when just over 2-½ lengths behind Stradbroke favourite Headley Grange in the Kingsford-Smith Cup.
“He was tremendous last time, and he has come on a lot for it,” Brown said.
“A lot of good milers have won a Stradbroke, and Josh Parr, who rode him last time, was very happy with his run, plus he drops six kilos in weight.
“That is pretty significant.”
Harry Coffey, who rode Von Hauke to success at Bendigo two starts back, is reunited with the gelding on Saturday while Tim Clark partners Sepals for the first time.
