Melbourne Cup winner gallops at Randwick

Gai Waterhouse has still not decided the autumn program for Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente but says he is on target for a big campaign.

Fiorente had his first public outing since his Cup win when he galloped between races at Randwick on Saturday with stablemate Carlton House, owned by the Queen.

Carlton House shaded Fiorente on the winning post but James McDonald, who rode Fiorente to second in the 2012 Melbourne Cup, was fulsome on his praise.

“From when I galloped him during the spring, he has developed and his stride is a lot better,” McDonald said.

Waterhouse said Fiorente would remain in Sydney as long as possible even if he did begin his campaign in Melbourne.

“There’s the Futurity and the Australian Cup in Melbourne but I don’t want to travel him in the heat,” she said.

“I know it’s cooled down a bit in Melbourne at the moment but he can do all his work here and if we decide to go there, we will.

“Otherwise there is the Chipping Norton Stakes into the Ranvet, the BMW and the Queen Elizabeth in Sydney.”

The $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2400m) on April 19 is also the target for Carlton House who was partnered by Adam Hyeronimus on Saturday.

“He really had his mind on the job and wanted to get to the line,” Hyeronimus said.

Waterhouse opted for the race day gallops after not being able to use the course proper for barrier trials on Thursday.

“The course proper should be open to carnival horses,” she said.

“These are both big gross horses and we will take the course proper when we can get it.”

Waterhouse said she expected Carlton House to be racing within the next couple of weeks.

The pair’s gallop came after the trainer watched three-year-old Woodbine win over 1200m.

The $2.50 favourite worked to the line a neck in front of Dream Forward ($8.50).

Woodbine is the second foal of multiple Group One winner Miss Finland who won the 2006 Golden Slipper and the VRC Oaks later that year.

The colt is raced by his breeder John Messara who said he was unsure of his autumn program.

“I would like to think he can get 1600 metres so he could run in the Randwick Guineas,” Messara said.

“If we don’t think he can get a mile then we will look at other races.”

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