Plans for Zakouma did not initially include the Flemington Melbourne Cup ballot race until his most recent effort on the course.
Boasting three wins in a row, Zakouma lined up at Flemington on Anzac Day, heavily favoured to dominate the 2000m benchmark 100 showdown.
The event quickly soured for the Grahame Begg runner, who was pinned on the inside trailing the field and only emerged late.
Bypassing a break for spring races, Zakouma will instead contest the Listed Andrew Ramsden (2800m) this coming Saturday at Flemington.
As the second in a series of 10 races, the Andrew Ramsden delivers a direct path into the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington in November.
Begg described Zakouma’s last-start as akin to a 2000m workout, yet the set-weights format raises flags for Begg, especially with Zakouma allotted the same impost as Sydney Cup winner Changingoftheguard despite his latent distance prowess.
“He’s got to go the distance and he’s not well-weighted under the conditions,” Begg said.
“I don’t understand why it’s a set-weights race.
“Outside three-year-old Classic races, I can’t think of one, while the winner gets free passage into the Melbourne Cup and then goes back to a handicap, so why not make this a handicap.”
Zakouma has not ventured beyond 2000m in Begg’s camp, originating from Pat Carey and Harris Walker based at Mornington.
In his juvenile phase, the gelding finished second over 2200m at Bairnsdale and fourth at 2400m on Caulfield’s track before joining Begg.
Begg desires a moderate speed Saturday, allowing Zakouma to track quietly in his bid to handle the trip.
“Changingoftheguard rolls forward, Sir Kingsford rolls forward, so I think they’ll go a good enough clip and normally at the 700 (metres) in these races, the wave starts coming,” Begg said.
“What we’ll try to do is put him to sleep, give him some clean air, and give him one crack at them.
“Whether he’s up to the task and can run the journey, that’s something we’ll find out on Saturday.
“But he goes to the race in good order.”
For the Andrew Ramsden, punters can find attractive betting sites with specials on Zakouma’s performance.
