Danny O’Brien has yet to determine a spring starting point for Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare.
But one thing O’Brien is sure of is Vow And Declare will need racing leading into this year’s Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 2.
Vow And Declare was among the nominations for the Melbourne Cup, the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate when entries closed for the three majors of the Melbourne Spring Carnival on Tuesday.
“He’s ticking over alright,” O’Brien said.
“He’s still got a lot to do to get back to his best form but he’s had a good build-up over winter.
“He’ll need a bit more racing than he had in 2019 because he just hasn’t done much in the last 12 months.”
Vow And Declare has raced only eight times since scoring in the 2019 Melbourne Cup.
He returned the following autumn to finish third in the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington, the only time he was placed during those eight outings.
Vow And Declare won the Melbourne Cup off a three-run campaign that started with a fourth-place finish in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington before running second to Mer De Glace in the Caulfield Cup.
O’Brien had a similar campaign in store for Vow And Declare last year, although the now six-year-old kicked off in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.
Vow And Declare did not reach the same heights as 2019, finishing 15th to Verry Elleegant in the Caulfield and then 18th to Twilight Payment in the Melbourne Cup.
The stayer was one of a number of O’Brien spring hopefuls that had a jump-out at Geelong on Wednesday.
Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au