Peter and Paul Snowden’s six-year-old son of So You Think, Carif, will attempt another Melbourne Cup after a very rough ride in the race last year.
Although he was a very big price on the day, his trip gave him no chance. He will now get back on the road to the Cup by taking in the Civic Stakes at Randwick.
Civic Stakes the Starting Point
The Civic Stakes is seen as being the ideal starting point for Carif’s Cup mission.
The 1400-metre race is run at Listed level and Carif has shown the speed for such races before. If his trainers are right about his ability and his chances, his huge price of around $81.00 for the race could look silly come ten past three!
The Snowden’s seem very happy to give their gelding another shot at the Cup. Carif was galloped all over with around 600 metres to go last November.
That gave him little chance of recovering, though he was doing OK to that point. He went on to finish 18th at Flemington, but his trainers reckon there’s more to come.
Plans may be fluid, depending on what happens in the Civic. Last year, he took in the Yulong Hill, the Bentley St Leger and the Tattersalls Club Cup, all at Randwick.
Gelding Back After a Break
Carif was given an easy time after his heavy Melbourne Cup campaign last year. Having now had a recent barrier trial to blow the cobwebs away however, he is ready to go.
The 1400-metre distance he’ll face in the Civic Stakes is a little on the quick side for him, however he did run a solid fourth over the same trip last year in the Cameron Handicap.
The feeling is that this is the ideal warm-up. There is little doubt that Carif gets better when he reaches at least 2000 metres, but it’ll be more than a little interesting to see him running on late in the Civic regardless of the end result. See here the Melbourne Cup horses 2022.
Galloper Is Up Against Sprinters
This is an excellent exercise for Carif and we should keep in mind he’s a live outsider for the Cup on November 1. He will be up against it though in the Civic with the race unlikely to be run to suit.
The field has been filled with winter-time sprinters. Recent Flemington winner Looks Like Elvis, Dawn Passage, Taksu, Battleton and Oscar Zulu will ensure this is a strongly-run race.
Chris Waller has four in the race, while the Snowden team are represented elsewhere on the card.
A win for Carif here is unlikely, but any potential Cup contender should be watched closely from now on. A good galloping performance with strength in the finish will do nicely with the spring in mind.
Read more news about the Melbourne Cup.
