Melbourne spring campaign could be on agenda for Knight’s Choice after Caloundra Cup at Sunshine Coast

A trip to Melbourne for the spring carnival will be on the agenda if Knight’s Choice can win the Caloundra Cup on Sunday.

Knight's Choice is ready to break through for a win this prep in the Caloundra Cup on Sunday. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

No horse will be more fit than Knight’s Choice in Sunday’s Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m) as the one-time boom horse looks to earn his way to Victoria for a shot at Cups glory.

Trainers John Symons and Sheila Laxon planned to run the promising stayer last Saturday on a seven-day back-up before it was called off due to heavy rain, so elected to trial him on Tuesday instead in preparation for Sunday’s rescheduled meeting.

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Laxon, who was the last trainer to pull off the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup double before Without A Fight did it last year, said she wasn’t afraid to put the miles into her star galloper.

After misfiring in a Sydney spring campaign last year, Laxon said Knight’s Choice has his mojo back, with connections keen to try their luck in Victoria this time around.

“Victoria is the plan, we won’t be going down there for the weather that is for sure,” she said.

“If he lets us down badly, we will need to have a rethink about what we are doing, but I don’t think he will do that.”

After running second in the $1.2m Q22 behind Fawkner Park and third in the Tattersall’s Cup behind Vow And Declare and Young Werther, Knight’s Choice brings the class to the $300,000 Caloundra Cup on Sunday.

With the track still a Heavy 10, Laxon said they have no concerns about running him and warned it will be a different track to what most have experienced.

Sheila Laxon (right) has no concerns about a heavy track for Knight’s Choice. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

“There were no concerns running him last week on the back-up, that’s for sure,” she said.

“We trialled him at Deagon on Tuesday, which worked out well because we couldn’t gallop them on the grass.

“In these conditions, they need to be so fit, with the sprinters you can probably do a bit less with them, but these horses need the conditioning.

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“We are hoping we have put the work in him to allow him to handle the track, it will be a different sort of heavy track, a holding sort of track and some horses will get through it and some won’t.

“He can have this run now and then have a look at where we go in the spring.

“He is very light on his feet, so with this holding track, the only concern is if there is some suction there, he might not be the Knight’s Choice that we know he can be.”

Robbie Dolan will keep the ride on Knight’s Choice.

Originally published as Melbourne spring campaign could be on agenda for Knight’s Choice after Caloundra Cup at Sunshine Coast