Cox Plate (Aus-G1) winner EL SEGUNDO (Pins)
will not participate in Saturday’s Mackinnon S. (Aus-G1), with trainer Colin
Little opting to send the gelding to the paddock ahead of a possible tilt at Dubai next March. Little said it was a mistake last year for El Segundo to
back up seven days after his narrow Cox Plate defeat, and the four-time Group 1
winner would not back up in the race this year. Last year, El Segundo was beaten
almost seven lengths into fourth place in the Mackinnon won by Desert War (Desert
King),
after failing to unleash his powerful finishing sprint.
“The horse is fine, but
it’s mission accomplished and we’d like the horse to have a good spell and be
ready for the autumn,” Little said. “We’ve yet to make any plans apart from
turning him out today, but we’ll get together over the next two weeks and look
at his autumn program.”
Little said options for El Segundo, whose earnings were
boosted to A$3,791,875 with last Saturday’s win, included the Dubai World Cup
(UAE-G1) and a tilt at Royal Ascot in June, although the trainer is wary of soft ground
for his star galloper.
“I know the owners are keen on Dubai and there’s a small
possibility we might go to Royal Ascot,” Little added. “I’ve always dreamed of
having a runner at Royal Ascot.”
In other Mackinnon news, trainer David Hayes is adamant that five-time Group
1 winner MISS FINLAND (Redoute’s
Choice) will not take her place in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup (Aus-G1) unless she
produces a mighty effort in the Mackinnon.
“If she doesn’t run like
Let’s Elope (NZ) or Empire Rose, then she won’t start in the Melbourne Cup
and we will turn her out,” Hayes insisted.
The conditioner indicated that the
bay would wear a Norton bit Saturday.
“It gives her something to think about,
it’s a bit of a change,” Hayes said. “It helps horses that tend to pull — I
believe she has been too aggressive in the first 400 meters of her races,” Hayes
said, adding he had successfully employed the same tactic with Cup winners Jeune, At Talaq and Beldale Ball.
HARADASUN (Fusaichi Pegasus) is worthy
favorite for the Mackinnon after an enormous effort when forced to lead before
finishing third in the Cox Plate. The bay won’t have to face the two that beat him
home in the Moonee Valley feature, with both El Segundo and Cox Plate runner-up
Wonderful World (Agnes World) skipping the Mackinnon.
A dual Group 1 winner over a mile, Haradasun has raced five times this
campaign, consistently but without a win. Part-owner Frank Tagg indicated
that there would be a change in tactics for the four-year-old, who will be
accompanied by Damien Oliver in the Mackinnon.
“His best runs have come from
behind, but that wasn’t the way the (Cox Plate) unfolded,” Tagg explained. “We
had to lead and he was left a sitting shot. It’s an important race for him as it
will probably map out his autumn campaign in terms of distance.”