Hartnell ready for another G1 challenge
The distance of Saturday’s G1 Australian Cup at Flemington is right for Hartnell, the conditions suit him as well as they do any other horse and he’s at peak fitness.
For all that, trainer James Cummings’s high regard for his horse is accompanied by a healthy respect for his opposition.
“Coming to the 2,000 meters looks like it will suit him perfectly,” Cummings said.
“He’s performed strongly at his first two this time in and I feel that the horse has gone ahead since last run.
“There’s no doubt he’ll need a big effort to turn it around on Gailo Chop who beat him in that race two weeks ago. But you’re going to see a stronger Hartnell this weekend and he certainly looked good when he worked on Wednesday morning.”
Hartnell marked his autumn return with a resounding win in the G1 CF Orr Stakes over a 1,400m trip that is short of his best. He was then third to Gailo Chop and Single Gaze in the G2 Peter Young Stakes at 1,800m and now steps up another 200m.
“He was a little underdone going into the Peter Young given that there was a G1 target coming up a couple of weeks later and to my eye he seems to have brightened up and worked really strongly.”
Hartnell has come a long way since arriving in Australia, graduating from a middle-ranking young stayer in the UK to ranking second only to Winx in Australia.
Whether he can again reach that level as a seven-year-old is problematic, but Cummings is satisfied that he is capable of testing Saturday’s field.
“The thing about Hartnell is that he’s a genuine racehorse who loves to go out there and do his job,” he said.
Prominent among his Australian Cup rivals are the 2016 Melbourne Cup winner Almandin who was a good second at the only run of his current preparation and the former French-trained runner Gailo Chop who has won his past two and is twice a winner at G1 level in Australia.
Hartnell is joined at Flemington on Saturday by stable companions Tin Hat in the G2 Sires Produce Stakes and Regimen in the Listed Incogntus Stakes.
