Persan the one to beat ahead of Bagot Handicap

Ciaron Maher and David Eustace might look to aim Persan at a Sydney or Adelaide Cup if he can live up to expectations and win the Bagot Handicap at Flemington on Sunday.

The racing manager for the Melbourne Cup-winning stable, Reece Murphy, believes the six-year-old has only continued to improve since his 20th place in the race that stops a nation last year.

Since then, he has finished third in the JRA Cup, Moonee Valley Gold Cup and Zipping Classic this year – all at Group level.

His last start saw him achieve a deserved breakthrough victory for 2022, saluting in the Listed JRA Trophy at Flemington on December 17.

The Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) on April 8, or Group 2 Adelaide Cup over the same distance on March 13 could be Persan’s next target.

Of course, that is if he fires as expected in his Listed assignment worth $200,000 and over 2800m on Sunday.

“We’ll reassess after Sunday. His rating is up there,” Murphy told HorseBetting.com.au.

“We might look at the Sydney Cup or something like that, but he’s more of a dry-tracker nowadays.

“Adelaide Cup could be an option, but we’ll just get through Sunday and work it out from there.”

It will be Persan’s ninth start for his 2022 campaign in the Flemington staying feature, with the first of those on June 11.

But Murphy believes his gelding has been well looked-after by top trainers Maher and Eustace.

“Persan is a lightly-raced horse. We’ve taken our time with him and spaced his runs,” he said.

“He’s getting better and has held his condition well.”

Murphy said Persan was deserving of his of his $3 favourite tag across online betting sites.

“I think Persan has got the form on the board. He’s gone up just half a kilo (to 60.5kg) from his last win when he beat some of these other horses,” he said.

“He’s the one to beat and he’ll be on the speed.

“There will probably be more speed in this race than his last race, so that’ll be interesting.”

San Huberto is a seven-year-old stallion and stablemate who has $11 winning odds going into the Bagot Handicap.

From the Matt Cumani stable, his only start for Maher and Eustace was a decent effort, finishing fourth in the Sandown Cup over 3200m at Caulfield on November 26.

“San Huberto has got a good chance. Blinkers will be on,” Murphy said.

“We’ve only had him for a short time, but it was a good run last start.

“Gate (11) is a bit tricky, so he’ll probably be ridden a bit quieter. Maybe midfield because there’ll be good speed on paper.

“He will run well, but Persan is the one to beat.”

After a couple of last-placed finishes in The Bart Cummings and Queen’s Cup in October and November, Murphy has been impressed with his first sightings of San Huberto.

“We’ve turned his form around. He came to us in good condition,” he said.

“We just mixed a few things up, and with the blinkers that should really switch him on.”

Meanwhile, Murphy said Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip was on track for some lucrative features in Sydney over autumn.

The Group 1 Tancred Stakes worth $1.5 million over 2400m at Rosehill on March 25 looks the best option.

“Maybe the Tancred. Could even be the Queen Elizabeth (worth $5 million over 2000m on April 8). I think the 2400 is probably his go,” he said.

“That seems to be the weaker out of the two, and it’s still good prizemoney.”

Murphy said Maher was eager to start seeing some of his two-year-olds perform in the new year.

“We want to see some of our two-year-olds coming up. We haven’t had too many two-year-olds, so we’ll see how they measure up and hopefully we can get a Group 1 win,” he said.

“I don’t think Ciaron has trained a Group 1 winning two-year-old. So that’ll be one of his next goals.”

It is this attitude – never being satisfied – which sees Maher stand out when compared to most trainers.

And it is why Murphy enjoys working for the operation.

“With Ciaron Maher, he’s going from strength to strength and he wants to win more majors,” he said.

“He’s got a big team behind him and a lot of work gets put in – credit goes to all of them.”

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