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Buckaroo will run in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup after his brilliant run in the Cox Plate when he ran a close second to champion mare Via Sistina.
The trainer and connections agreed on Wednesday morning to plot their path to the famous race with Craig Williams booked to the ride the seven-year-old gelding.
Via Sistina and Buckaroo race to the finish line in the Cox Plate.Credit: Getty Images
Buckaroo ran ninth in last year’s Melbourne Cup with varying opinions on whether he ran out the 3200-metre distance, but part-owner Ozzie Kheir told SEN on Wednesday morning that Buckaroo was forced wide last year which made it impossible for him to be in the finish.
“I think he is the class horse with probably Al Riffa [in the Cup],” Kheir said.
Buckaroo has been in outstanding form at weight-for-age level and the initial plan was to run him in the Champion Stakes on the final day of the carnival. However, Kheir said trainer Chris Waller had told him on Wednesday he was looking for reasons not to run him in the Cup, but could not find them.
The trainer had been more cautious on Tuesday when he told reporters the horse was no more than a 50-50 chance to run at Flemington next Tuesday. He is rated an 8-1 chance with bookmakers.
“He’s been with us for a long time, so we’ve just got to make sure we get it right, so we’re trying to go through an analytical approach to make sure that we know that he’s gonna not only run in the Melbourne Cup but be capable of winning a Melbourne Cup,” Waller said.
The owners and trainer combined in 2021 when Verry Elleegant took a similar path into the Melbourne Cup and won in commanding fashion to give Waller his first Cup win. She was run third in the Cox Plate and fourth in the Turnbull Stakes before Mark Zahra rode her to victory in the Cup, with Verry Elleegant seventh in the previous year’s Cup.
Buckaroo finished second in the Cox Plate and Underwood Stakes and third in the Caulfield Stakes in this campaign, with the only query being whether running in the Cup was part of the plan or an afterthought.
The decision to include Buckaroo means Birdman, who is also trained by Waller, remains uncertain of gaining a run as he sits 26th in the order of entry. Mark Twain is 25th and will run in Wednesday’s Bendigo Cup.
