After a tough winning performance in the South Grafton Cup on Sunday, Cepheus is now eligible for the ‘Big Dance’ on Melbourne Cup Day at Randwick.
The Big Dance is a 1600m Quality Handicap for 3yo’s and upwards and was created by Racing NSW in early 2022. The field for the race is being drawn from winners and second-placed horses of the 25 Country Cup races from across New South Wales, including the South Grafton Quality Cup last Sunday.
With the prizemoney increase from $2m at last year’s running to $3m this year, makes it a very attractive target for high-class country horses and genuine metropolitan runners.
Cepheus, who has been in for a long preparation since his first start in February, delivered another strong win on Sunday and connections are looking forward to seeing him now run in the spring. After Sunday’s run, the 6yo will have a few weeks of easy work with plenty of visits to the beach before picking up his training again in readiness for the spring.
The gelding will most likely head into the ‘Big Dance’ third up, after a couple of preparatory runs over 1200m-1400m to get his fitness up again. Trainer Matt Dunn was delighted after Sunday’s race.
“He’s done a terrific job this horse. He returned from a tendon injury 18 months ago and with the help from Matthew Williams down in Warrnambool, he came back in great order. Originally we wanted to aim him towards a Melbourne Cup, but we kind of turned him a little bit into a sprinter and the middle distance suits him really well.”
We look forward to seeing Cepheus back in the spring after some well deserved quiet time!