WODONGA trainer Brian Cox has turned his attention to Wodonga Cup day with his flying filly Sumakaray after finishing unplaced at Flemington on Oaks Day.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sumakaray ($9.50) was well supported in betting when she tackled city company for the first time after winning her first two starts at Wodonga and Seymour.
The three-year-old filly was under plenty of pressure approaching the 400-metre mark with jockey Luke Nolen aboard before fading in the run home to finish 12th of 14 runners.
Sumakaray suffered lacerations to both hind legs during the run with Nolen informing stewards the filly may have come to the end of her preparation.
Cox feels the filly simply didn’t handle racing down the Flemington straight course for the first time.
“She just didn’t handle it (the straight) and got a bit lost,” Cox said.
“We’ll just go back to the drawing board but at this stage I’m keen to target a race on Wodonga Cup day with her.
“If she performs there I might then look going back to town.
“Luke got off her and said she would be a lot better suited racing around a bend than down the straight.”
Cox, who will be chasing his 11th Wodonga Cup victory on December 2, looks likely to rely solely on Murdoch’s Joy as he plots another raid on his home-town feature.
Murdoch’s Joy was narrowly beaten second-up at Benalla on Sunday carrying 60 kilograms in a slashing Cup trial.
The five-year-old finished second in the Wodonga Cup last year won by the Gerald Egan-trained Jetconi.
“The horse went super on Sunday. One more stride he wins so it encouraging from a Wodonga Cup point of view,” he said.
