Trainer Will Clarken is aiming to secure his third victory in the prestigious Murray Bridge Cup, a race he previously won with Agreeable in 2022 and Cartoon Graveyard last year.
Clarken, now preparing his horses alongside Charlotte Sorby, is set to enter Cicala in the Listed Murray Bridge Gold Cup over 1600m this Saturday. The mare is coming off a solid closing fourth in the Listed Balaklava Cup, also over 1600m, with Jamie Melham in the saddle. This was Cicala’s first attempt at the distance, and Rochelle Milnes will resume her partnership with the five-year-old mare on Saturday.
Initially, Cicala excelled as a sprinter, securing wins from 1050m to 1200m. However, as she has matured, the mare has shown an increasing ability to handle longer distances.
“It’s very open and that’s the standard of horse they are,” Clarken commented. “There doesn’t seem to be anything that is on the way up and we have probably seen their PB’s in life. Air Assault is clearly the best horse in the race, but he has to carry the best horse’s weight all the time because his rating is so high. My mare, I reckon if Jamie had her time again, she would show a bit more urgency out of the gates, and I think she should have run second and made a good fist of the mile. Second time at the mile (on Saturday), she might be a bit more seasoned, and it will be interesting to see if she can find a length or so.”
Milnes faces the challenge of navigating barrier 17 in Saturday’s race.
Clarken noted that several horses drawn near his mare possess good early speed.
“There’s three ways of doing it,” Clarken explained. “We throw caution to the wind and roll forward as the speed is around us. My cousin’s horse, Bootlegger (Dan Clarken), he’ll go forward and the topweight, Air Assault, it’ll roll forward, and all three have drawn out there. We can either go with them, or we grad hold and try and get back in three-wide line with a bit of cover. There is rain predicted and if it does come, that could help horses getting off the rail in the home straight.”
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