Top Kiwi to kickstart Victorian campaign

OUTSTANDING Auckland pacer Copy That is in Victoria and will start a campaign aimed at next month’s Victoria Cup with his first lead-up race being the $100,000 VHRC Caduceus Classic at Tabcorp Park Melton on Saturday night.

Trainer Ray Green also has three-year-olds Simply Sam and Argyle in Victoria for next month’s Derby, with the latter a surprise addition to the team after a huge improvement curve in recent weeks.

“The two three-year-olds both deserve a crack at a good race so they will start over here on Friday night (at Ballarat) and Copy That will go straight into a Group One on Saturday,” Green said.

Copy That beat Self Assured and South Coast Arden in the New Zealand Cup last November, and while his crossing the Tasman was initially thought to reduce his chances of defending that title, Green stated that isn’t the case.

“We thought about the Victoria Cup and maybe even staying on here right through the Inter Dominions but now we are more focused on getting him home for the New Zealand Cup,” Green said.

“So while he is definitely staying here until after the Victoria Cup I’d say it was close to certain, all going well, he will go home for the New Zealand Cup.”

That raises question over whether Copy That would return back across the Tasman for the Inter Dominion, which starts on November 26.

“We are still not committed to that,” Green said. “The three heats in a week and all the travelling may not be ideal because it is such a long season.

“We still have races like The Race by Grins in April and the Auckland Cup in May, so there is a lot of water to go under the bridge and I don’t want to be too hard on him pre-Christmas.

“But the two races we are most focussed on at the moment are the Victoria and New Zealand Cups.”

It remains to be seen whether any Australians contest the iconic race at Addington on November 8.

NZ Messenger winner Majestic Cruiser, which finished second in The Race by Grins last April, has already been nominated and will be a serious force in the Cup if he comes.

• HRV Media