By Adam Hamilton
LUKE McCarthy expects his drive Mach Doro to pounce on the early lead in the Victoria Cup and thinks he can give the Group 1 race a big shake.
Mach Doro is renowned for his blazing gate speed and his best hope on Saturday night is to cross them from gate five then take a sit on one of the big guns and try for a sprint lane win.
“That’s his go for sure. I think I can cross, he’s very, very quick off the arm,” McCarthy said. “If we get across, then I’ll take the sit on the first of the good horses to get to us. We’ll need to sit behind the leader to have a winning chance.
“If we get across, I’m not sure who will get to us first … whether Tiger Tara can keep Chicago Bull on his outside, then burrow through and get to us or whether even a horse like Franco Nelson might be cut loose from his wide draw and just keep charging forward.
“Whatever happens, if we get the front and sit on one of the better horses, we should get our chance.
“I’m not absolutely sure he’s good enough, but he’s getting better all the time and he surprised me how easily he won last time when I was sure he might have been a run short.”
It’s worth noting Mach Doro led, took a trail on Tiger Tara and comfortably ran past him when they met at Menangle two weeks ago.
The Craig Cross-trained Mach Doro has firmed from $26 to $16 on the Aussie TAB since the draw.
Favourites Chicago Bull ($2.20 to $2.25) and Tiger Tara ($4.80 to $5) have both eased, while Shadow Sax has been the other firmer in from $6.50 to $5.50.
“Chicago Bull is the best horse in the race for sure, but a lot will depend on where he ends up from the draw,” McCarthy said. “He’s got the form in the best races, but it’ll be hard if he got to do all the work.”
Beyond Saturday night, McCarthy is looking forward to the Melbourne Inter Dominion with Mach Doro.
“We’ve looked after him and he’s kept improving. This is his chance this season to show if he’s right up to them or not,” he said.
“He’s such a lovely race horse and with his early speed he can put himself into his races.”
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