Rocky King In Frame For Melbourne Carnival
- Saturday, 19 July 2014 07:44
Tough gelding Rocky King earned himself a Melbourne trip and created extra opportunities for his future in winning at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Trained by Tom Bourke, Rocky King ($3.60) worked his way to the lead and kept going to win the Netball Disney Classic Handicap (1300m).
Bourke said Rocky King would go for a short spell and then come back for the Melbourne spring.
"We will target some of the easier races down the straight over 1000 metres at Flemington and there are also some nice short-course races at Moonee Valley in the spring," he said.
"But the fact he has now confirmed he can get 1300 metres or even 1400 metres there are more options for him."
Rocky King has now won 11 races and $360,000 in prize money but 10 of those races have been at 1000m.
Bourke has always insisted Rocky King could run a strong 1300m or further.
"After his second at 1200 metres in the Grafton Ramornie we were confident he could run out the 1300 metres and win today," Bourke said.
Gold Coast three-year-old Charlie Cat ($6.50) also could have earned himself a Melbourne campaign with his win in the Brisclean Handicap (1200m).
Trainer Les Kelly decided to "roll the dice" with Charlie Cat and enter him for a Class 6 when the gelding was still eligible for a Class 2.
"I have a really big opinion of this horse. He ran a record when he won at Grafton last start and I felt he was up to Brisbane," Kelly said.
He said Charlie Cat would have one more Brisbane start before a possible trip to Melbourne for some of the carnival races.
Trainer Matt Dunn brought up his 50th Brisbane winner and his 99th overall for the season when Wingarra won the Austral Volkswagon Handicap (1600m).
Wingarra did his early racing in Melbourne but has won his last four starts for Dunn.
Meanwhile, Stradbroke-winning trainer Natalie McCall continued her run of success with the offspring of sire Top Echelon when Not Too Sure won the The Stoddart Group Handicap (1300m).
McCall's most famous Top Echelon offspring is River Lad, who won this year's Group One Stradbroke.
