South Australian Derby winner Coco Sun with tough task from draw in Caulfield Cup

Trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy have done all they can to have Coco Sun in top condition but the barrier draw and Mother Nature will have the final say on her Caulfield Cup chances.

In football parlance, Ballarat trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy have “controlled the controllables”.

They have given their charge Coco Sun a strong grounding for the Caulfield Cup, believing they have the four-year-old in prime condition for the toughest test of her career.

The pair booked Hong Kong-based jockey Karis Teetan to ride Coco Sun, who will drop 5.5kg to 51kg on her last-start fifth in the Group 1 Might And Power Stakes when she tackles the $5m Caulfield Cup.

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But an uncontrollable factor has provided the biggest obstacle to Coco Sun’s Caulfield Cup preparation when she drew barrier 20 on Tuesday.

Coco Sun will jump from barrier 17 if the scratchings don’t gain a start, the same barrier from which Japanese galloper Mer De Glace won the 2019 Caulfield Cup.

“We’ve got a class jockey on, it’s not an ideal barrier but we’ll just have to make do with what we’ve got,” Calvin McEvoy said.

“She looks great, we’re really pleased with her and she just needs a little bit of luck.”

Unlike many Caulfield Cup racegoers, the McEvoy stable would welcome even a portion of the rain forecast for Melbourne in the days leading up to the Caulfield Cup.

Coco Sun has a terrible draw in Saturday’s $5m Caulfield Cup. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

The Bureau Of Meteorology has forecast up to 30mm of rain over the next three days.

McEvoy said softer ground would be a relief to Coco Sun after running on firm Caulfield tracks at her last three runs.

“Undeniably, if she’s racing on firm tracks, she hasn’t been stretching out 100 per cent on them,” McEvoy said.

“There’s rain forecast this week, which she’ll love.

“The mile and a half is also what she needs so those two things will help.

“She’s also got to overcome a wide barrier but she’s a Group 1 Derby-winning mare.”

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Bookmaker Ladbrokes has eased Coco Sun’s Caulfield Cup quote from $31 to $35.

The last Caulfield Cup winner to have their final lead-up run in the Might And Power Stakes was Mongolian Khan in 2015.

The Chris Waller-trained Buckaroo, who won the Underwood Stakes at Caulfield two starts back, is the $4.20 favourite.

Without A Fight tackled the Underwood Stakes before winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups last spring.

Originally published as South Australian Derby winner Coco Sun with tough task from draw in Caulfield Cup