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Caulfield Cup Bookings; El Roca; Toorak Weights; Arabian Gold; Ruud Awakening; Aussies Love Sport; Zonza; Black Caviar
• Major race bookings continue with Craig Williams and Glen Boss confirming their Caulfield Cup rides.
WiIliams has taken the ride on the international raider Dandino while Boss has been confirmed as the rider of Kiwi mare Silent Achiever in the Caulfield Cup.
Boss has passed on Oaks winner Royal Descent despite reports last weekend that he would be riding the Chris Waller-trained mare.
* CHRIS Waller has confirmed Nash Rawiller as the rider for Royal Descent in the Caulfield Cup on the basis that the weights will be raised 1.5kg iof Greeen Moon does not accept.
Waller said Rawiller has committed to ride below his regular riding weight. No rider has been put on standby should the weights not be raised.
Jim Cassidy will ride stablemate Hawkspur and Craig Newitt will ride either Moriarty or Kelinni.
Waller said a Caulfield Cup start for Kelinni hinges on his workout on Friday following his disappointing effort at Randwick last Saturday.
* TOMMY Berry will ride Glencadam Gold in the Caulfield Cup for Gai Waterhouse.
* BRENTON Avdulla has picked up a plum spring carnival ride with his booking to ride imported stayer Waldpark in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.
The German import, trained by Anthony Freedman, is assured of a start in both races.
• TRAINING partners Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young are delighted with the progress of their Caulfield Guineas contender El Roca after he was a star worker on Tuesday.
The on pace runner drew perfectly on barrier two for the Guineas after he worked impressively for Craig Newitt.
“It makes the job a lot easier,” Busuttin said. “He will be in the first three or four and can attack from there. Craig will stick with him and I think he'll be very hard to beat.”
The bad news for Bussuttin and Young is the problem they are having with stablemate Sangster, who jarred up badly when finishing last in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington last Saturday.
They have ruled him out of the Caulfield Cup and are hoping he will come right in time to run at Moonee Valley on October 26.
“We could look at the Moonee Valley Cup or we could even bring him home – we'll see how he does over the next 10 days,” Busuttin said.
• A lot of trainers and jockeys were pleased to learn Kiwi champ King Mufhasa would not be running in Saturday's G1 Toorak Hcp at Caulfield.
King Mufhasa was ruled out after pulling up sore in a shoulder after a gallop on Tuesday, meaning weights for the Toorak have been raised 2.5kg, a relief for 14 of the 22 entries who were handicapped on the minimum weight of 52kg.
There would have been a mad scramble for lightweight jockeys to ride at that weight if King Mufhasa stayed in the field.
• Arabian Gold has come off second best in her last two starts in Sydney and Van Dyke feels his filly will be better placed taking a different route in Melbourne with her next two starts to be in the Ethereal Stakes at Caulfield and the Wakeful Stakes at Flemington.
• Kiwi filly Ruud Awakening is being restricted to swimming after she was unable to work at Flemington on Tuesday due to bruised feet.
Syndicate manager Albert Bosma said the hiccup would prevent Ruud Awakening from racing as planned at Caulfield this Saturday.
• The Gai Waterhouse stable is directing Aussies Love Sport towards the g1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington and a clash with Zoustar after ruling him out of Saturday's Caulfield Guineas due to the injury he suiffreered while trfaveling by float to Melbourne last Friday.
• Last start Te Rapa winner Zonza will join her Roger James-trained stablemate Silent Achiever in Melbourne.
James confirmed a Melbourne campaign for Zonza after she won first-up at Te Rapa last Friday.
The five-year-old Zonza has been stakes placed in NZ and measured up in Sydney last season when she finished second in the Listed Lord Mayor's Cup at Rosehill.
• Black Caviar is never far from the headlines, even in retirement.
The great mare has been served for a second time by champion sire Exceed And Excel after a negative test to her first service last month.