Spirit Ridge fit for the Winter Cup

It is a training method more commonly used in Europe, but Annabel Neasham has no qualms extending Spirit Ridge to 2400-metres second-up in the Listed Winter Cup at Rosehill.

The seasoned campaigner resumed with a solid sixth to stablemate Bois D’Argent in the Lord Mayor’s Cup (2000m) and steps straight up to a genuine staying journey on Saturday.

The approach is routinely used in Europe but is a rarer occurrence in Australia where horses generally have their distances increased gradually.

Rob Archibald, racing manager for Neasham, says Spirit Ridge needs at least a middle-distance to be competitive and as a UK import, the strategy suits him.

“He just starts warming up around the 2000-metre mark,” Archibald said.

“He had the two trials and he has given us every indication he’s going to be comfortable over that sort of distance.

“It isn’t something you see all the time but he’s a natural stayer and he should cope with it well.”

Already a multiple stakes winner in Australia, Spirit Ridge has raced seven times for Neasham for a Flemington win and minor placings in the Australia Day, Hobart and Launceston Cups.

Archibald says the gelding continues to enjoy his racing despite rising nine and the stable is confident he can feature on Saturday.

“He’s very straightforward. He is a good doer and he’s a very genuine older horse,” he said.

“His resuming run in the Lord Mayor’s Cup was outstanding, he will take good benefit from that and we’re expecting a bold showing here.”

Stablemate Hopeful is a dual acceptor for Sydney and Melbourne and given his best form is on rain-affected ground, track conditions could determine where he runs, with Flemington a soft 5 on Wednesday and Rosehill rated good.

“He’s in Rosehill and Melbourne so we’ll just keep an eye on the weather and make a decision closer to the time,” Archibald said.

“He’s going really well. He has improved all preparation and he’ll run really well whichever way we go, but obviously he has a big advantage when the ground is soft.”

was nominated for the Winter Cup but wasn’t an acceptor, connections preferring to keep him to middle-distances with the McKell Cup (2000m) in two weeks his likely target.

A final field of 10 was declared for Saturday’s Listed race with the Chris Waller-trained Al Aabir the early favourite.