The chance to win a Golden Ticket into this year’s Melbourne Cup presents for the connections of four OTI horses at Flemington on Saturday.
Hezashocka, Selino, Amade and Timour are all set to take their place in the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes under set weight conditions, which has certainly raised the bar of excitement and will be followed with much anticipation by connections.
Hezashocka, who just missed out on a Mornington Cup win last start, will be guided through the race by Blake Shinn, jumping from barrier 5. The son of Shocking has proven on multiple occasions that he is a very competitive WFA racehorse and certainly deserves to be racing up there with the best. Unlucky to yet win a black-type race in Australia, the 5yo could certainly make his presence felt on Saturday.
Trainer Mick Price reports:” His last gallop down in Warrnambool was a very good piece of work and I just can’t fault him. He loves Flemington and ran super in the Mornington Cup with Shinn on board. He’s developed into a serious WFA horse and I definitely see him running well on Saturday.”
On his inside jumping from barrier 1 will be Timour, a 5yo son of Gleneagles trained by Chris Waller. The gelding won the G3 Mannion Cup two starts back at Rosehill and came 3rd and 4th in his previous runs, both at Flemington. Timour has been at Waller’s Flemington base for the past week and has been pleasing the team in his work.
“He had 1400m workout this morning on the grass at Flemington, he let down strongly over the last 400m and his rider gave us a good report. He heads to the 2800m a fit horse, obviously he has been up a while, but he has come through his below par performance in the Sydney Cup without any explanation for the run. So, I hope to get a decent track, an economical run, and see him really improve on Saturday.”, commented trainer Chris Waller in a post race update to owners.
Also in the race and trained by Chris Waller is 2021 Sydney Cup winner Selino, who will jump from barrier 12. A true stayer, he has been progressive throughout his races this preparation, with a 6th placing in the 2023 Sydney Cup the pick of his recent efforts.
Waller’s commented: “His last run in the Sydney Cup was a bit unlucky, but the horse certainly showed he is back to his best. He is a very fit horse and has just had maintenance work over the past fortnight which included a 1400m workout this morning where he breezed up a little bit stronger over the last 400m and he did this work very comfortably. He heads to the 2800m Andrew Ramsden on Saturday, so let’s hope for a good draw, an economical run, and a genuine pace and we will see him be very competitive.”
Jockeys for both Timour and Selino are yet to be decided.
Last but not least is the Phillip Stokes galloper Amade, who certainly deserves his chance in the race after a brave run in the G2 Adelaide Cup two starts back, finishing third.
“He’s a very laid back horse, but his last gallop here at Pakenham was very good, he relaxed and worked strongly to the line. It will be a good test for him on Saturday, but he’s a horse that definitely deserves to be there.”, says trainer Phillip Stokes to owners.
Amade will be ridden by Zac Spain and drawn awkwardly again, allocated barrier 18.
See the full field and all race details for all four horses HERE.
We wish all connections the best of luck for Saturday’s race and hopefully we can secure that valuable Golden Ticket!