Midweek expedition has Osborne Bulls ready for Moonee Valley

A pre-race “reconnaissance mission” has set the stage for the appearance of the highly-talented Osborne Bulls at Moonee Valley on Saturday.

In his meticulous preparation for the Listed Bendigo Bank Stakes, trainer James Cummings galloped Osborne Bulls (Craig Williams) at the Valley to familiarise himself ahead of a race that shapes as his toughest in a career that has yielded eight wins from 11 starts.

“The horse took some time to balance up in a reconnaissance mission at Moonee Valley on Tuesday morning, but he was nice to the line,” Cummings said.

“Probably the biggest challenge for him could be working his way into the clear as a noted backmarker around the tight Moonee Valley circuit.

“But all things being equal, I expect him to perform strongly again.”

Osborne Bulls’ rise in the handicaps is also of concern to Cummings as he sets the son of Street Cry on a spring program aimed at the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.

“He continues to pay the price for his winning form, he goes up another half kilogram here.” 

That winning form incudes an impressive win at Caulfield at his most recent outing where he came from near last to score well.

While close attention will be paid to Osborne Bulls, Cummings rates the G2 McEwen Stakes, in which he runs Viridine (Craig Williams), as the most interesting race of the weekend in Australia.

“Viridine is set to run very well first up in what is the race of the day,” he said.

The likely presence of boom sprinter Nature Strip and the three-time G1 winner Shoals certainly makes the McEwen a standout event, but Cummings says Viridine is ready for a strong first-up performance.

“He’s been strong throughout his preliminaries, he’s had a patient build-up and he’ll test himself here at a good level,” he said.

But Cummings points to Viridine’s good form of last spring when he raced against such high-class sprinters as Redzel, English and In Her Time as a guide to his class.

The Melbourne Stakes representation on Saturday is completed by Gongs (Dwayne Dunn) in the Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes.

“The filly has improved as the weeks have gone by in this preparation, but she’s been feeling the firm tracks in Sydney,” Cummings said.

“Her effort here against capable fillies will give us a good guide as to where she goes next.”