The Sydney Cup has emerged as a target for up and coming stayer Cheviot Beach this autumn.
The lightly-raced five-year-old landed his first metropolitan win at Flemington on Saturday in the Gurner’s Lane Hcp (2000m).
Trainer Nigel Blackiston said Cheviot Beach had been helped by the removal of ear muffs which he had worn to second placings at his past two starts.
“I took them off because his last two runs (jockey) Michael (Walker) thought that he just waited,” Blackiston said.
“They are a funny thing the earmuffs (because) they settle him down and relax him but he is just a little bit hesitant when he hits the line.
“The form around him has been very good. The horse that just beat him at Sandown (Rock Of Ages) won again at Mornington so the form has been very strong.
“Coming to the 2000 metres, I was a bit disappointed with the handicapping but he proved us wrong.”
Cheviot Beach had a 66 rating, the lowest in the open class race and was on 56kg, only two kilos below the topweight, 2011 Group Two Adelaide Cup (3200m) runner-up Saddler’s Story.
“I thought if he could be competitive he could go on to better things later on,” Blackiston said.
“I’m going to put a nomination in for the Sydney Cup. Talent wise, it suits him and there’s a nice lead into it.”
The Group One $400,000 Sydney Cup (3200m) is run at Randwick on April 28.
Prizum ($5.50) set a fast pace with Walker settling Cheviot Beach ($17) sixth of the nine runners. He ran the leader down to score by a half-length with Persian Star ($6.50) running on to be 1-3/4 lengths away third.
“He probably should have won his last two starts (but) with ear muffs on he couldn’t hear me yelling or hear the whip cracking,” Walker said.
“He is still not mature yet, mentally and physically. He’s a big gangly, rangy horse but he’s just got to settle.
“If he pulls in races he is hard to hold.”
Cheviot Beach is out of the Zabeel mare Milzeel who won three races and was runner-up in the 2003 Group Two Royal Stakes (2000m) for three-year-old fillies at Ellerslie.
His grand-dam Miltak, by McGinty, was champion older mare in Australia and New Zealand and won eight races including three at Group One level, the 1994 Auckland Cup (3200m), the BMW (2400m) and the 1993 New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
