Right You Are on Track for G1 Australian Cup
The $200,000 VRC Australian Cup Prelude (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday did not carry Black Type, but it did set the stage for the $3million Group I VRC Australian Cup to be held at the same venue on March 25 and the winner was progressive stayer Right You Are (6g So You Think x Leica Ding, by Redding).
Trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable, Right You Are made it five wins on the trot when he was too good for Melbourne Cup winner Vow and Declare, scoring by a length and a half for Mark Zahra.
"It's great to see, he's always been quite a talented horse who's probably had his quirks a little bit, but he's just in a beautiful rhythm now,” said David Eustace.
"He's taken to Cranbourne and Lucy and the team there have done a great in, first and foremost, he's sound, he's had a suspensory injury, but that's right clearly and he's just regaining a bit of confidence."
Right You Are is getting better with every run and is yet to hit the glass ceiling.
"He got a lovely ride from Mark (Zahra), he was patient, waited for the gap to come, and when he did full credit to the horse, he really dug in,” Eustace said
"I thought he showed an awful lot of fight, it wasn't handed on a platter at all today, he had horses coming at him for quite a long time and he kept finding.
"It's great for the owners, they've been patient and they're getting the rewards."
The Group I VRC Australian Cup looms large as the next likely target with Eustace confirming he was on track for the lucrative race.
"For sure, why not? Today was a lovely trial for the race, he's a gelding, he's fit and sound and in career best form, so he'll be racing for $3 million and we'll have a crack,” he added.
Right You Are was retained to race by his breeders and is the best of two winners from Group III Geelong Cup winner Leica Ding, who is by Victoria Derby winner Redding from the famed Leica family with champion filly Leica Show his fifth dam.
A stakes-winner at his previous start, Right You Are has won nine of 20 starts earning over $680,000 and is one of seven Australian stakes-winners for So You Think this season.