By Adam Hamilton
Owner Hass Taiba says the New Zealand Cup is a “very real option” with gifted Aussie pacer Captain Ravishing.
Initial plans were to spell the star four-year-old after his terrific first-up third in last Saturday night’s $2.1mil TAB Eureka after an interrupted preparation.
“He’s come through it so well, we’ve changed plans,” Taiba said.
“I think we’d be crazy not to have a go at the Victoria Cup now (October 14) and then, if he comes through that well, take him to New Zealand.
“He’s still in Sydney at ‘Sloys’ farm and they say he’s come through the Eureka run very well.
“We might never get another chance to go for these big races, so Ahmed (Taiba, trainer) will head-up to Sydney next week and we’ll train him out of Menangle and get him ready to come back down to race at Melton.
“There’s a sprint race the week before the Victoria Cup, he’ll go there and then run in the Cup the week after.”
That race is the Smoken Up Sprint over 1720m.
“We’re so happy with where he’s at. I really think these next few months could be great for him,” Taiba said.
“If he goes as well as we hope in the Victoria Cup, we’d look seriously at going to New Zealand, but we can wait until then to make a final decision.
“They said we could late nom him for the race and we will.”
Taiba revealed circumstances rather than a daring plan led to Captain Ravishing going first-up into the TAB Eureka.
“I think people know we had some issues with him and it was a real battle just to get him to the start,” he said.
“He had that setback with a foot and joint issues and we didn’t have the chance to race him or even get some really strong trials into him.
“For him to run so well and really only get tired in the last 100m shows how good he is.
“It was only in the last 7-8 days before the Eureka we really started to get him right.
“He really needs racing now. There’s no substitute for racing when it comes to getting ready for the really big races.”
