Popular Tasmanian galloper The Cleaner has emerged as one of the stories of the spring carnival as he takes another step towards his Cox Plate mission in the JRA Cup.
The bold frontrunner earned himself a spot in the $3 million Cox Plate with his Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes win at Moonee Valley last start.
Friday night’s JRA Cup, run over the Cox Plate course and distance, will be his final lead-up to the weight-for-age championship.
With three wins at Moonee Valley from his past four starts in Melbourne, The Cleaner has thrust himself and trainer Mick Burles into the Australian racing spotlight.
The horse travels home to Tasmania by ferry after each Melbourne start and returns in time for his next race.
Burles said The Cleaner had again handled the passage across Bass Strait without fuss and he was quietly confident the horse could add another successful chapter to his story on Friday night.
The Cleaner has drawn barrier 10 in the field of 13 but Burles is unconcerned, noting the horse has won from wide gates in Melbourne before.
“His natural pace will put him where he wants to be,” he said.
The seven-year-old has won seven races in Tasmania over 2100m and Burles believes he has the horse ready for a return to that distance on Friday night.
“I just hope he’s not too fresh. His last four runs have been over the mile and I just hope he hasn’t got into the routine of running a mile,” he said.
“He’s got a good rider on him and he can sort that out.
“I know the horse will give 150 per cent and if he does that, he’ll be hard to beat.”
As usual, The Cleaner will head back to Tasmania after the JRA Cup.
However, his travel schedule will be a little different this weekend.
The horse normally boards a ferry a few hours after he races on a Saturday afternoon but with the Moonee Valley meeting being a night fixture he will spend an evening away from home.
“He’ll have to go home the following night because I can’t swim that fast to catch the boat,” Burles said.
“That’s after the race, so it’s not so important. It won’t affect him.”
