Trainer Gavin Bedggood has his sights set on the Caulfield Cup with his charge Kingswood, but a Group 1 race at Caulfield stands in his way first.

The Might And Power (2000m) is slated to be Kingswood’s final preparation run before the Caulfield Cup (2400m) the following Saturday.

While a victory in Saturday’s 2000m weight-for-age event would be highly desirable, particularly with the substantial $600,000 prize money available, Bedggood stated that he would be content as long as the imported galloper finishes strongly through the line.

Kingswood made his way to New Zealand late last year, achieving Group 1 success before contesting two more races in the country. Upon his return to Australia, he has demonstrated improved form in his two subsequent starts.

His first-up run saw him victorious over 1700m at Caulfield on August 29, followed by a fourth-place finish in the Underwood Stakes (1800m) on September 19.

On that occasion, he finished behind Birdman, who will be a competitor again on Saturday, and Cosmic Crusader, who secured a win at Flemington last week.

Last time out, Kingswood was compelled to take up a leading role, and Bedggood expressed a preference for the horse to settle off the pace in an ideal scenario.

“I don’t want to see him ridden as close as he was last time. I don’t want to see him have a hard run up on speed,” Bedggood said.

“I’d love to see him settle third or fourth, getting a lovely run, and then banging the line.”

Bedggood believes that Saturday’s race will position Kingswood perfectly for a tilt at the Caulfield Cup.

The trainer is confident that Kingswood possesses the stamina to comfortably handle the 2400m distance.

“He ran in a Zipping Classic at his only try at the trip, and the track went from a (good) four to a (heavy) nine on the day and it was too wet for him,” Bedggood said.

“I don’t think it was the mile-and-a-half, it was more the ground, so it is still a bit of question mark, but deep down, I don’t think it will be an issue.

“He beat St George on Melbourne Cup Day last year and he’s second favourite for the Caulfield Cup, so I don’t think there’s a lot between those two horses, and I take a gauge through that horses runs this campaign.

“There is also the option to take the winkers off him to get him to come back that peg or two if we need to next week.”

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