Melbourne Cup favourite returns in Sydney trial
On Thursday, the undefeated grey galloper White Marlin had his first public outing of 2023 when he trialed in Sydney. Partnered by race day jockey Tim Clark, the former Irish galloper, now trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, finished sixth in the trial which was won convincingly by last-start G2 Autumn Stakes winner and fellow grey galloper Glint Of Silver.
Glint Of Silver was entered for Saturday’s G1 Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington but connections opted to keep him in Sydney to run over shorter trips. Meanwhile, White Marlin is targeting the 2800-metre listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington on May 13, which would give the winner a ballot-free run into the Melbourne Cup field.
White Marlin had won his opening two races in Ireland over 2400 metres a little more than 12 months ago before making his Australian debut in September last year over 1800 metres at Rosehill. From there, he powered home at $14 to win a BM72, before an impressive on-pace victory at Caulfield in heavy conditions over 2000 metres and a 5.5 length romp at Flemington when stepped up to the 2800 metres in a BM96.
At the top of Melbourne Cup betting, White Marlin is currently sharing the line with Soulcombe at $15 with betr.com.au. Soulcombe earned his domestic rating of 91 with a breathtaking Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) win during the spring carnival, though this won’t be enough to guarantee him a spot in the Melbourne Cup 2023.
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