Juja Kibo has already achieved more than Ciaron Maher had initially expected this campaign, but the trainer believes there is still more to come from the imported six-year-old.
He is set to race this Saturday in the $750,000 Group 2 Zipping Classic (2400m) at Sandown.
The Belardo gelding is contesting the Zipping Classic after playing a role in Maher’s historic Melbourne Cup trifecta, where he was narrowly edged out of second place by Zahrann, finishing 3-3/4 lengths behind the runaway winner Point Of Law.
This performance followed wins in the Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) and The Metropolitan (2400m) at Group 2 level. While many of the Melbourne Cup runners have been turned out for a spell, Maher sees no reason to retire Juja Kibo from racing.
“He bounced through it really well,” Maher said when discussing his Melbourne Cup recovery.
“He just keeps raising the bar, he gets a bit better each time he steps out and he’s been on a bit of a whirlwind this prep.”
Juja Kibo’s only two starts before The Metropolitan this season resulted in a third placing in the Rowley Mile (1600m) and a second placing in the Kingston Town Stakes (2000m).
He becomes the first Melbourne Cup placegetter to participate in the Zipping Classic since Spanish Mission, who finished unplaced as the $1.40 favourite in the 2021 Zipping Classic following a third placing in the Melbourne Cup.
Data shows that twelve of the past 25 Zipping Classic winners have come from the Melbourne Cup field, and Juja Kibo is not the only horse from this year’s Melbourne Cup heading to Sandown.
Knight’s Choice, the 2024 Melbourne Cup winner, is also entered after finishing 12th, accompanied by Strictly Business (18th), Vauban (last), and Juja Kibo’s stablemate Middle Earth, who finished 10th in the Melbourne Cup.
Maher noted that Middle Earth, who had secured third place in the Melbourne Cup a year before Juja Kibo’s attempt, was not suited by the pace of the Melbourne Cup and still has untapped potential.
“He came out of it really well,” he stated.
“He overdid it. (Royal) Supremacy went a nice tempo, but the rest of the field didn’t and that didn’t really suit him, so he didn’t have much of a run.”
Mark Zahra, who rode Middle Earth in the Melbourne Cup, will switch to partner the short-priced favourite Small Fry in the Zipping Classic. This change allows Ethan Brown to get back aboard Middle Earth, the horse he rode in the Melbourne Cup last year.
Middle Earth will start from barrier five, while Juja Kibo, who will again be ridden by Sam Clipperton, will jump from the inside alley.
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