San Huberto will make his much-anticipated Australian debut in the Group 3 Geelong Cup on Wednesday afternoon (Race 7 – 4:00 pm).
The French import will contest the 2400m race after narrowly missing out on a run in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup last Saturday. San Huberto will carry topweight of 59kg with star hoop Damien Oliver booked to ride from the inside barrier.
The Group 2 winner will be vying to secure a spot in the 2020 Melbourne Cup where he is currently ranked 30th in the order of entry.
Trained by Fabrice Chappet in France, but currently under the temporary care of Matt Cumani in Australia, the four-year-old has pleased in his work since arriving in Melbourne.
After spending a fortnight at the Werribee International Quarantine Centre, San Huberto relocated to Cumani’s Ballarat stables over the weekend.
Cumani is delighted with the horse, describing him as straightforward with a great temperament and a wonderful physical presence.
“He’s a very good-natured horse, very relaxed and naturally confident,” Cumani told Andrew Bensley in an interview on Monday.
“I think he can certainly be up there with his form with the best of them. I’m confident we’ve got the right horse, and we’re going to give it a very good crack.”
“He’s got a bit of wet ground action, but I’m told pretty categorically by his French connections that he really does not like wet ground, and we could see that when he ran in the Kergorlay,” Cumani added.
Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes in horse quarantine?@mattcumani takes us inside Werribee with our Melbourne Cup hopeful, SAN HUBERTO! 🏆 #OTIRacing #RoadToTheCup @WHR @CumaniRacing pic.twitter.com/QA6XgOnhue
— OTI Racing (@OTIRacing) October 15, 2020
Connections of San Huberto will be overjoyed with Wednesday’s sunny forecast which will see that he gets his preferred track conditions.
OTI has an incredible record in the Geelong Cup, including three winners; Bauer (2008), Gatewood (2012) and Ibicenco (2013), three 2nd placings; Grey Lion (2016), Gallic Chieftain (2017) and True Self (2019) and three 3rd placings; Bauer (2011), Magic Instinct (2008) and Manndawi (2015).
OTI wishes San Huberto’s French and Australian connections the best of luck in tomorrow’s race!
