Despite a heavy handicap and inside gate, trainer Dan O’Sullivan and Berkeley Square’s team press on with Adelaide Cup intentions.
O’Sullivan got his start training in Adelaide, later moving to Ballarat, and lifted the Adelaide Cup in 2008 aboard Lacey Underall.
Monday’s Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville would resonate deeper though, as the bulk of the gelding’s owners reside in Adelaide.
Excitement boiled over in the mounting yard post Berkeley Square’s December Ballarat Cup (2000m) repeat win, but victory on Monday might spark outright bedlam for the six-year-old.
“It would be good to go back and do it again, especially for his owners who are Adelaide based,” O’Sullivan said.
“Some haven’t seen race for a little while.”
The mission for Berkeley Square looms large.
Assigned 59.5kg, it tops the weights of Hyperno (1978) and Gallic (2007) by 1.5kg in victories since 1973’s metric shift.
Benefiting him is the 53kg minimum, a 3kg hike since Bohemiath’s early-2000s win, despite Gallic’s success from 53kg.
Berkeley Square booked his Adelaide slot carrying 61.5kg to the line over 2500m at Flemington on February 14, with Luke Nolen retained for Monday.
“It was a good ride,” O’Sullivan said.
“He looked after the horse and made sure he ran the trip out with the view of going up to two miles.
“I’ve got no problems with the trip. I think he can do whatever we want him to do.
“He’s never done that and you want to see it, but it won’t be easy with the weight, but he is a big bugger, and he has the form on the board.
“He is a Group 2 winner and has done a lot more than some of the others in the race.”
Since that Flemington effort, progress has been trouble-free, sharpened by routine gallops for Berkeley Square.
“I’m happy with where he’s at and we’ve just got to get him over there safely and he’ll be right to go,” O’Sullivan said.
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