Dreams are free, but Warwick Farm trainer Greg Hickman isn’t one to dream without good reason and believes has one with Rondino and the Melbourne Cup.
The tough stayer can tick off the qualifying criteria for the race that stops the nation in the Christmas Cup at Randwick on Saturday before a short break with the focus on Flemington and the first Tuesday in November next year.
Tyler Schiller fires Rondino to victory on Hunter day at Newcastle last month.Credit:Getty
“You always dream of having a horse good enough to be in the Melbourne Cup, and I haven’t had that many, but this bloke is a stayer that is getting better and he’ll run two miles,” Hickman said.
“The Melbourne Cup is the goal for him next year. I got close to it with Sir Dex, which started favourite in a Caulfield Cup and just didn’t stand up for the Cup.
“But, other than that, I haven’t had a horse I could be confident with to get to the Melbourne Cup – until now.
“This bloke is just a tough bugger, and the further they go the better he gets. He is a stayer with a turn of foot, and you don’t get many of them.”
The Christmas Cup (2400m) will be Rondino’s 12th run of a six-month preparation that finally got into his distance range in the past couple of runs. He won over 2400m at Warwick Farm on September 28 before exploding late to win on The Hunter day over 1850m.
But when he stepped up to listed company in the ATC Cup over 2000m last time out, he didn’t get the breaks he needed in the straight and was relatively untested in finishing fifth behind Bonny Ezra, which will be a rival again on Saturday.
“The winner went up 10 [benchmark] points, we went up two, and I think if we got his run we probably win,” Hickman said. “I have been very confident in his chances the last couple of runs, and, with 53kg, I’m confident again.
“I think the 2400m will be a better trip for him. Hopefully he can go out a winner and then we can work out how to get the Cup.
“I know he will have to win a couple of races to get there, but he is good enough to do it, particularly when he gets up over the long trips.”
Gun apprentice Tyler Schiller once takes the ride on Rondino and Magic Millions-bound Eleven Eleven for Hickman, even though he can’t use his claim in either race.
“Tyler is going to have no trouble going from an apprentice with a claim to a senior because he is just a very good rider,” Hickman said. “He is one of the first jockeys you think of when booking riders these days.
“You only have to look at his rides on Rondino; they have been as good as you will get, until last start when everywhere he went shut in front of him, which can sometimes happens in racing.”
Eleven Eleven has recovered from The Hunter, where Tommy Berry parted company with him in the straight fearing he had gone amiss. He has since won a trial in which he beat leading The Ingham hopes Huetor and Diamil to prove his fitness.
“We are just doing what we have to with him for the past three years and getting ready for the Gold Coast [where he has won the Magic Millions Guineas and two Magic Millions Cups],” Hickman said. “He is up in the weights now, but he will be flying home late on the weekend.”
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