Craig Williams will ride Makram in Wednesday’s Geelong Cup after being dumped from favourite Interpretation, following a disagreement over his ride in the lead-up to The Bart Cummings.
Interpretation will be out to secure a Melbourne Cup berth on Wednesday for the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace camp following his third placing in The Bart Cummings, a race which would have guaranteed him a spot in next month’s $7.5 million Cup had he won.
Craig Williams says he made a decision in the Bart Cummings that could have cost him the Geelong Cup ride on favourite Interpretation.Credit:Getty Images
Williams rode the lightly raced import on that occasion, but has been replaced by Ben Melham for the Geelong Cup. Williams rode Makram to second in the Herbert Power, and said he wouldn’t be able to compare the two runners until after the race.
“We’ll line up [the form] best tomorrow after the race,” Williams said.
“Interpretation was really good. Not everything worked out well for his strength, in that he could have kept his momentum. I had a choice that I made, whether it was right or wrong, I just felt that I needed to have some respite throughout the race rather than have him pressured the whole race, and then 400 metres later, I had a horse that could have been going a lot quicker than the ones around me.
“It will be really interesting to see how much he [Interpretation] has come on, and he’s definitely going to be a tough opponent.”
But Williams said Makram – who also needs to win the Geelong Cup to move up the Melbourne Cup order of entry – had plenty of upside.
“I really liked Makram’s run the other day,” Williams said.
“He still showed me signs of inexperience and immaturity, so he’s pretty exciting. He’s not doing everything perfectly right, and he was still able to perform like he did the other day.”
Eustace, Interpretation’s co-trainer, said Melham will have strict instructions going into the Geelong Cup.
“I thought the [Bart Cummings] result could have been better, and he’ll be ridden more positively,” Eustace said.
“I suspect, unless we get a bit of luck, he needs to win [to get into the Cup] and we really think he is a proper Cup horse, so he needs to do it tomorrow. It’s a big field, it sets up pretty well for him, and we’re going to use his staying prowess and make it a bit of a test.”
Asked whether Williams was dumped because of the ride, Eustace said the stable has a number of jockeys it chooses to use.
The X-factor in the Geelong Cup, however, is international import Rodrigo Diaz, who makes his Australian debut in the race for the Australian Bloodstock team.
Champion hoop Damien Oliver, who has ridden him once at Werribee, said the six-year-old gelding appears to tick numerous boxes for the 2400m contest.
“I think the blinkers will be a good addition for him, switch him on a bit,” Oliver said.
“It’s probably some of the strongest staying form we’ve got around. Big field, big track, my horse seems to be a strong stayer and I think the blinkers will help him”
Eustace said the team had not ruled out a last-gasp Cup tilt for Interpretation via the exempt Hotham Handicap on Derby day, should he be unsuccessful at Geelong.
