Craig Williams believes Garud can overcome a wide barrier and give the star Melbourne jockey a fourth win in the Hobart Cup.
The Mike Moroney-trained stayer looms as one of the leading chances in Monday’s Group Three 2400m race as Williams bids to add to wins on Offenbach (2008), Gotta Keep Cool (2009) and Epingle (2014).
Williams partnered the Mick Kent-trained Epingle to the feature Tasmanian double last year when the mare added the Launceston Cup to her win at Hobart.
“It’s been a lucky race for me,” Williams said.
“Garud has got no weight, but he has drawn awkwardly.
“The Tasmanian horses have to be respected, they’ve been racing competitively and it’s in their backyard, but it looks like Garud has the right form to be extremely competitive.”
Garud won over 1700m at Warrnambool two starts ago before being unplaced over 2000m at Flemington.
His trainer has taken some of the blame for that performance and is convinced the gelding can bounce back on Monday on the 54kg limit.
“He’s done a lot of work going into this,” Moroney said.
“I felt I made a bit of a blue last start in that I might have been a bit light on him, work-wise, so I’ve stepped the work rate up and he’s handled it really well.
“With luck in running I think he’ll be pretty hard to beat.”
Moroney would have liked a better draw, with Garud to jump from barrier 10 in a field which has been reduced to 12 after the scratching of Perplexing.
“I think it’s the right race for him but he just hasn’t been blessed with the best draw,” Moroney said.
“A good draw would have been ideal for him over 2400 metres because he just needs a bit of cover.”
Banca Mo, Geegees Blackflash, and Genuine Lad spearhead the local chances while the Tony McEvoy-trained Pelicano is another interstate entrant expected to prove hard to beat.
Geegees Blackflash, a last-start Summer Cup winner at Hobart and the first horse to earn $1 million racing exclusively in Tasmania, will be lining up in his fifth Hobart Cup.
He won in 2012 and has been third and second respectively in the past two years.
Article from justhorseracing.com.au
