The connections of So You Are are hopeful for a more favourable Melbourne Cup rehandicap following their recent victory at Bendigo.
The Bjorn Baker-trained stayer has faced two separate half-kilogram penalties for the Melbourne Cup after securing two recent wins in Sydney, namely the Colin Stephens Stakes (2400m) and the ATC St Leger Stakes (2600m). Following these successes, the horse was taken to Melbourne to clinch the Group 3 Bendigo Cup (2400m) on Wednesday.
Currently, So You Are is positioned outside the top 24 in the Melbourne Cup (3200m) standings, which are set for November 3. To gain entry, the horse requires an additional 1.5kg, on top of the 1kg already allocated, to move into the Cup field.
A 1kg penalty would place So You Are at number 25, while a further 0.5kg penalty would see him at number 26. This would necessitate two horses within the top 24 not accepting their spots when final declarations are made on Saturday.
Racing Victoria’s head of handicapping, David Hegan, is scheduled to review and issue any rehandicap adjustments on Thursday.
Sent off as the $3.60 favourite with Rachel King in the saddle, So You Are secured a three-quarter length victory over Berkeley Square ($31), with Litzdeel ($9.50) finishing a half-length further back in third place.
Baker’s racing manager, Luke Hilton, expressed that the 3200m distance of the Melbourne Cup would be well-suited to the stayer, provided he secures a start.
“He ran 26 (hundred metres) the other day and was pulling away,” Hilton stated. “He doesn’t win by big margins, which probably counts against him in terms of getting a little bit more from the handicappers, but he just keeps doing it so you can’t knock winning form. He can’t do any more, it’s been a bit frustrating. He’s done everything he can, the horse, he deserved to be there and hopefully that’s enough to get him in. It’s been a great campaign, he’s just got better and better each time. He relaxed beautifully today. Gates are a big help, and he was able to get a good and Rach put him into the race when she was ready to go and he was tough.”
King commented that So You Are seemed to benefit from racing left-handed, a change from his previous performances in Victoria during last year’s Spring Carnival when he raced below expectations.
“He had had a couple of runs in Melbourne and probably not run up to standard before, so it was good to see him get it done the other way around,” King said. “He’s just a horse in really good form. He’s tough, he puts himself on speed, he makes life easy and he doesn’t want to let one get past him. Fingers crossed they’re nice to us now and let us in.”
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