Birdman flies high with Peter Young Stakes win for Australian Cup tilt
Ben Melham has his sights set on a further Australian Cup victory after Birdman delivered a comfortable triumph at Caulfield.
The jockey will team up with the Chris Waller-trained import from Ireland for the key Flemington race on March 28, fresh off piloting the gelding to a win in the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) last Saturday.
Birdman, sent out at $3.30, posted a 1-¾ length margin in the time-honoured Australian Cup trial over Apulia ($11), with Bankers Choice ($41) just a half-head behind in third place.
Melham tasted back-to-back Australian Cups (2000m) victories astride Godolphin's Cascadian during 2023 and 2024, and he rates Birdman as having the attributes for success in the 2000m Flemington showdown.
"I've had a bit to do with him early doors this preparation and the way he was going he was heading in the right direction to be competitive in an Australian Cup," Melham said.
"And the more I have to do with him the more I think he can win it.
"He's been a bit of a revelation the horse.
"He's in the right stable and might have taken a bit of time to acclimatise, but he's a very relaxed customer.
"He takes a bit of waking up but the ability is certainly there."
Having competed at distances beyond 2400m in Ireland before coming Down Under, Birdman has been refined by Waller this campaign into a quicker operator.
According to Melham, the gelding shows more early speed and might suit being kept relatively fresh.
"I don't think the run will have hurt him at all," Melham said.
"He just got into a lovely position, didn't sort of spend any pennies until the last 250 metres and I felt he had the race at his mercy a long way out.
"He seems to be going really well at these shorter trips. He'll be no worries at 2000 (metres), but maybe that's the way to go with him, a bit of freshness in his legs, but I'll leave that to the expert."
Visit the online bookmakers to find the best betting markets for the race featuring Birdman in the Australian Cup.
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