No Decision On Cup Start For Royal Diamond
- Tuesday, 24 September 2013 21:45
Trainer-jockey Johnny Murtagh plans to give Royal Diamond a work-out over the weekend before making a final decision on a trip to Australia for the Melbourne Cup.
A reliable performer all season with a Group Three and Listed race wins to his name, the seven-year-old was said to have been tired after his failure to retain the Irish St Leger, in which he finished fifth behind Voleuse De Coeurs.
Royal Diamond has 54.5kg at Flemington and Murtagh will need to put him in quarantine by October 3 to arrive among the second batch of European raiders towards the end of the month.
"There's no news yet," Murtagh said.
"We'll wait until the weekend and give him a half-speed gallop then. Hopefully we'll be able to make a decision after that."
