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Caulfield Cup: Warp Speed disappoints in Caulfield bid, finishes 13th of 18
Warp Speed
Warp Speed, in Australia as one of Japan’s two hopefuls aimed for the iconic Melbourne Cup, was given his prep Saturday, Oct. 19, a run in the Grade 1 Caulfield Cup. Unfortunately, with a number of factors working against him, including a far outside draw, and heavy, drying ground, the 5-year-old son of Drefong was unable to get closer than 13th place in the 2,400-meter turf event at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. Surprisingly, the top three spots of the 147th running of the Caulfield Cup were all clinched by geldings. Duke de Sessa, an Ireland-bred, Ciaron Maher-trained 6-year-old, won with a stupendous frontal attack under new partner Harry Coffey, who also celebrating his birthday on the day. Their winning time was 2 minutes 31.42 seconds. Buckaroo, racing under Joao Moreira, overcame traffic to finish in second place a length and a quarter later. The U.K.-born 6-year-old is trained by Chris Waller, who also fielded third-place finisher Land Legend. The 5-year-old followed the runnerup over the finish line by 5 lengths under Zac Purton. After a number of withdrawals leading up to the race, a final field of 18 horses went to the gate. Warp Speed’s wide draw had been an obvious disappointment for Noboru Takagi, though the Miho-based trainer had tried to remain upbeat. “An inside draw would have been good, but we’ll do our best at the gate we’ve been handed,” Takagi had said before the race. “I’ll look at this in a positive way. Having drawn wide, he’ll be less likely to get caught in traffic.” Unfortunately, traffic was never the problem. The Caulfield Cup, the ninth race on the Saturday card of 10 with a 5:15 p.m. post time (local time), was delayed when Warmonger spung the gate and ran down the straight, but was reloaded to race. Warp Speed, running under the No. 4 saddle cloth, broke from the No. 19 gate 16 wide with two runners to his outside. He remained at the back of the field for the first half, racing three wide on the far outside. Lining up in the back with 300 meters to go, he only managed to beat five horses to the finish line. It was a lackluster effort, with the 6-year-old bay looking to never have had his heart in it. Jockey Akira Sugawara also noted the horse’s lack of concentration. "I think it had been difficult getting him ready for the race, but he was in good condition,” said Sugawara. “With the rain yesterday, the ground didn’t suit him. The going required power and he, surprisingly, wasn’t concentrating.” The trainer agreed. “Even though he was coming off a layoff, he was in good condition,” said Takagi. “But, it rained (Friday) and the track was heavy (rated an official Soft 6) and I think there were parts that made for difficult running. Next time out it’ll be 3,200 meters and I think he’ll be better suited to Flemington. Today was a good prep for him. We’ll do our best again.” The Melbourne Cup is set for its traditional “first Tuesday of November,” his year on Nov. 5 at Flemington Racecourse. Sugawara, who had already scoped out the Melbourne Cup venue, added, “Since arriving in Australia, I’ve also walked the Flemington track and I got the impression that it’s closer to the kind of surface we have in Japan. The distance will be longer and I think with this race under his belt, he’ll be able to do better next time.” The Caulfield Cup’s venue of Caulfield Racecourse is only about 20 km from Flemington Racecourse, where the Melbourne Cup is held, with both tracks located in the city of Melbourne. A dozen Japan-based horses (including Warp Speed) have run in the Caulfield Cup, two have won it (Admire Rakti in 2014 and Mer de Glace in 2019) and five have used the race as a steppingstone to the Melbourne Cup. Delta Blues, the only winner from a total 11 challengers from Japan to the Melbourne Cup, was one of them. He finished third amid a field of 18 in the 2006 Caulfield Cup before going on to win the Melbourne Cup under Yasunari Iwata less than 3 weeks later. That same year, Pop Rock, another runner from the stable of Katsuhiko Sumii had finished seventh in the Caulfield and went on to a Melbourne Cup second place. # # # Warp Speed, fifth in the Tenno Sho (Spring) earlier this year, has a best career second in graded company (in the Grade 2 Hanshin Daishoten this past March). Please visit the following website for more information.
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