Melbourne Cup: Aidan O’Brien stable confident Yucatan will go the distance

Aidan O’Brien’s travelling foreman has dismissed stamina queries over Melbourne Cup favourite Yucatan while predicting ­stablemates The Cliffsofmoher and Rostropovich are primed to peak on Cup Day.

Yucatan and The Cliffsofmoher hold the key for Team Williams this year.

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T.J. COMERFORD has dismissed stamina queries over Melbourne Cup favourite ­Yucatan while predicting ­stablemates The Cliffsofmoher and Rostropovich were primed to peak at Flemington.

Buoyant after Yucatan’s strong 1400m gallop with The Cliffsofmoher on Tuesday, Comerford said Lloyd Williams and Aidan O’Brien’s decision to bypass the Caulfield Cup with Herbert Power Stakes winner Yucatan was right.

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“I think Lloyd and Aidan called it right,” Comerford said. “He needed that time after Caulfield and it’s ­important to have the horse right for the Melbourne Cup.

“I suppose missing out that race has made all the ­difference.

“He was a little sore after he ran that first day, but he’s bounced back lovely and he’s in a good place. When he gets down for his (sand) roll and when he gets up, he’s bouncing and at ­leaving time he does it again.

TRACKWORK - Melbourne Cup favourite Yucatan looks in ominous form judging by his work @spendthriftpark this morning. 👀 pic.twitter.com/dt5m48vmZr

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“We’ve been giving him plenty (of work) and he’s been taking it well without emptying him.”

Asked about stepping up Yucatan to 3200m, Comerford said: “I don’t think it’s a problem. He saw out the mile and a half (2400m) well and he was ridden very positive as well. If you ride a race on him for two miles, he should stay it.”

Comerford said The Cliffsofmoher was ready to improve on his Caulfield Cup third.

“There’s no problems with him,” he said. “He won’t be far away. He’s back going well. He looks unreal. His dapples are coming out. He’s come on in leaps and bounds.”

Yucatan impressed in a gallop at Werribee on Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images

Pressed on which of the two horses he preferred, Comerford said: “If you asked me to ride one, I’d be riding Yucatan.”

He said Rostropovich had recovered well from his Cox Plate fifth behind Winx.

“He’s never been asked to go that quick,” Comerford said.

“He wants a mile and a half plus. Next start he’s stepping out over two miles with eight stone (51kg) on his back. That will be a big difference to him.

“There’s a nice gap to the Melbourne Cup and he came out of his race well.

“The next morning he licked his feed pot. He took the race well and it’s a good ­stepping stone to the Melbourne Cup.”

Yucatan cools down after his workout at Werribee. Picture: Getty Images

Meantime, Duretto remains under an injury cloud despite incoclusive leg scans.

Racing Victoria stewards said the scans at the University of Melbourne Equine Centre have not presented any identifiable issues with the horse.

It was decided to keep Duretto at the Equine Centre on Tuesday night and conduct further examinations on Wednesday. Fourth in the Caulfield Cup, Duretto was lame in its left foreleg following a track gallop at Werribee last Saturday.

The results of Wednesday’s tests will determine whether Duretto is in a suitable condition to be a final acceptor for next Tuesday’s $7.3m Melbourne Cup.

Duretto, who was paid up as a second acceptor for the Melbourne Cup on Monday, has been restricted to box rest for the past three days.

Team Williams undaunted by Cup injury toll

AFTER the glut of 2016 when Macedon Lodge had six Melbourne Cup runners – and delivered the quinella - Team Williams will next week chase a third consecutive Cup victory with possibly only two runners.

Rekindling and Johannes Vermeer, two of last spring’s stars, are the two biggest casualties, and are unlikely to race again until next autumn.

The Melbourne Cup quinella from last year, Rekindling and Johannes Vermeer missed critical work during the winter because of minor setbacks and the interruption meant neither horse would be ready to contest this season’s spring features.

Part-owner Nick Williams said both horses were only a 30 per cent chance of appearing at the Sandown Cup meeting next month.

“They’re both fine but I’d say they’re a 70 per cent chance of not running and a 30 per cent chance of running,” he said.

Yucatan and The Cliffsofmoher hold the key for Team Williams this year.

The stable’s only two guaranteed runners are firming favourite Yucatan and fellow import The Cliffsofmoher.

Midterm could bolster Macedon Lodge’s Cup squad but would need to win the Lexus Stakes (Hotham Handicap) at Flemington on Saturday to break into the 24-horse field.

Reflecting on the attrition rate, Williams said: “Horrendous, but you know you have good years, you have bad years.

“That’s the game, isn’t it? There’s not much you can do about it.

“People often forget, we ran one-two but we also ran last and second last but it’s not that easy.

Yucatan storms to victory in the Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield.

“But if we can get a couple of horses there going OK, that would be great.”

As deflating as the injury curse has been, Williams is hopeful runaway Herbert Power Stakes winner Yucatan can salute on Tuesday after a brilliant gallop on Tuesday.

“They look OK this morning, they seemed to have worked around all right,” he said.

“I hope they pull up all right this afternoon, push on, week to go.

“The horses are in good order but how they’ll run, God only knows.

“You’ve just got to hope if TJ (Comerford) and his team can get them there, they can run well.”

Rekindling edges out Johannes Vermeer to win the 2017 Melbourne Cup.

Williams said Yucatan’s stunning progress through the Herbert Power was a surprise.

“We thought he’d run well but not like that,” he said

“No-one in their right mind could have expected that.

“If I told someone at the races I expected that, they should have got some of those people in white suits to take me away.”

Watching rivals work, Williams believes last year’s Cup favourite Marmelo is a definite threat.

“I think Marmelo is going very well. He’d be one I’d be putting a circle around,” Williams said. “Magic Circle is obviously going all right but Marmelo looks to be going particularly well.”