Weather watch on Begg pair ahead of Ballarat Cup day

Cranbourne trainer Grahame Begg is on weather watch with his two runners at Ballarat.

What he does not want is the rain predicted on Friday and Saturday with up to 20mm a possibility on top of a track that was rated a Slow 6 on Thursday.

Begg has Miraval Rose down to run in the VOBIS Gold Eureka Stockade (1200m) and Katsu in the Tonks Plate (1100m) on Saturday.

There is a back-up plan for Miraval Rose if Begg elects to take her out of Saturday’s contest while the options for Katsu are not so readily available.

Begg said the Magic Millions 3YO & 4YO Classic (1200m) at the Caulfield Heath on Saturday week was an option for Miraval Rose who is below her best on rain-affected ground.

“We’re on weather watch,” Begg said.

“Fortunately for Miraval Rose there is a comparable race on Saturday week on the Caulfield Heath.

“It’s a Magic Millions race which she is eligible for, it has exactly the same prize money and it’s set weights, so it probably suits her better.

“Even though there is hot weather, it was a Soft 6 yesterday and there is rain forecast, so we’ll keep an eye on the weather, but I probably favour running Saturday week.”

Katsu needs dry ground to perform at his best and Begg said the sprinter had been a cause of frustration through his current campaign.

The gelding showed his customary pace last start at Flemington, before fading in the run home when beating only one runner in the Listed Century Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield.

“We’ll just have to see with him,” Begg said.

“We know he’s better on top of the ground, but there’s just no races for him.

“The Kensington Stakes, the Listed race he won last year at Flemington, they’ve taken it away and made it a 1400-metre race in January.

“There is the Christmas Sprint on the Caulfield Heath on Boxing Day, so we might have to wait for that with him if he doesn’t run on Saturday.

“He looks fantastic, but he’s been frustrating this time in, especially with wet tracks.”