Caulfield Cup 2023 final field and barrier draw: Trainer Ciaron Maher ‘very happy’ with Gold Trip
Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip is no certainty to run in the Caulfield Cup despite connections paying a hefty entry fee. See the final field and barrier draw.
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Favourite Gold Trip has drawn barrier 11 in the $5m Group 1 Caulfield Cup for the second year in a row.
Gold Trip’s place in the field was confirmed three hours before the draw after talks between trainer Ciaron Maher and owners of the Melbourne Cup and Turnbull Stakes winner.
Maher has left the door ajar to withdraw Gold Trip should the Caulfield surface become too dry for the star spring majors player.
“We’ll see how the track presents on Saturday and we’re certainly preparing him to take his place,” Maher said.
• Suspension rules Nash Rawiller out of Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate
“You probably don’t want to draw too well with him but I think he’s fine and we couldn’t be happier with his preparation … he’s a horse that finds a rhythm.
“He drew 11 in this race last year, he drew wide in the Melbourne Cup and he drew wide in the Turnbull … he just finds a spot and runs into the race. Hopefully it happens as simply as that on Saturday.”
Deliberations on Tuesday and Wednesday centred on track conditions on Saturday, along with the Caulfield Cup ramifications on Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup ambitions.
Is this the Caulfield Cup winner?
— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) October 17, 2023
Soulcombe, a $5 equal favourite, gallops at Caulfield this morning ahead of the $5 million classic on Saturday.
Trainer Chris Waller is predicting "something special"
STORY: https://t.co/nbGbEO15aYpic.twitter.com/LymKN8PZQM
“(Cox Plate is) definitely part of the package, it’s what made this decision hard,” Maher said.
“It’s more about looking after him and having him right … the horse has carried weight as a rule, (it‘s the) Caulfield Cup, he was good in it last year.“
Maher and co-trainer David Eustace will saddle up to four runners in the race on Saturday, with Right You Are, Duke De Sessa and first emergency United Nations drawn 13, 14 and 17 respectively.
Second favourite Soulcombe, one of three for trainer Chris Waller, has barrier six – the same alley victorious Durston used last year for the powerhouse stable.
Montefilia, to be ridden by Blake Shinn now after Sydney-based jockey Nash Rawiller was suspended on Wednesday, has gate nine while Francesco Guardi must navigate barrier 15.
Soulcombe (15 per cent) and Gold Trip (13 per cent) account for almost a third of win wagers with TAB on the Caulfield Cup.
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The bookmaker received a bet of $7000/$7500 each-way on Gold Trip on Wednesday.
One-time Caulfield Cup favourite Without A Fight, trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman has no excuses from barrier seven with Mark Zahra aboard.
Nonconformist, with Harry Coffey aboard, fared the worst with barrier 19.
The 2021 Caulfield Cup runner-up will jump from barrier 18 once the field is finalised.
“A little bit of a kick in the guts, but it is what it is,” Coffey said.
CAULFIELD CUP FIELD AND BARRIER DRAW
No. — Horse — Trainer — Jockey — Barrier — Weight
1 — GOLD TRIP — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — Ben Melham — 11 — 58.5kg
2 — WITHOUT A FIGHT — Anthony & Sam Freedman — Mark Zahra — 7 — 55.5kg
3 — BREAKUP — Tatsuya Yoshioka — Damian Lane — 5 — 55kg
4 — MONTEFILIA — Chris Waller — Blake Shinn — 9 — 54.5kg
5 — FRANCESCO GUARDI — Chris Waller — James McDonald — 15 — 54kg
6 — WEST WIND BLOWS — Simon & Ed Crisford — Jamie Spencer — 2 — 54kg
7 — NONCONFORMIST — Grahame Begg — Harry Coffey — 19 — 53.5kg
8 — SOULCOMBE — Chris Waller— Craig Williams — 6 — 53.5kg
9 — DUKE DE SESSA — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — John Allen — 14 — 53kg
10 — HOO YA MAL — Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott — Tim Clark — 8 — 53kg
11 — RIGHT YOU ARE — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — Michael Dee — 13 — 53kg
12 — EMISSARY — Michael Moroney — Jye McNeil — 4 — 52kg
13 — GOLDMAN — Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott — Linda Meech — 18 — 52kg
14 — OKITA SOUSHI — Joseph O’Brien — Kerrin McEvoy — 12 — 51.5kg
15 — FAME — Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman — Craig Newitt — 16 — 51kg
16 — BOIS D’ARGENT — Annabel Neasham — Winona Costin — 3 — 50.5kg
17 — SPIRIT RIDGE — Annabel Neasham— Dean Yendall — 10 — 50.5kg
18 — VALIANT KING — Joseph O’Brien — Jamie Kah — 1 — 50kg
19e — UNITED NATIONS — Ciaron Maher & David Eustace — Carleen Hefel — 17 — 50kg
Originally published as Caulfield Cup 2023 final field and barrier draw: Trainer Ciaron Maher ‘very happy’ with Gold Trip