Caulfield's Anniversary Vase begins Middle Earth's Cup path
The gelding who filled third in the Melbourne Cup, Middle Earth, begins his bid for a return crack at the famous Australian staying test this Saturday at Caulfield.
For the former UK horse trained by Ciaron Maher, the Listed Anniversary Vase at 1600m serves as the campaign opener.
Afterward, a journey north via Sydney to Brisbane beckons, targeting potentially the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) alongside the Group 2 Q22 (2200m) during Eagle Farm's winter program.
Post those engagements, the gelding should take a short respite in Queensland's balmy winter conditions to gear up for spring riches.
Upon arriving Down Under, Middle Earth wasted no time, claiming the Australian Cup Prelude (2000m) in March last year, before fading until a third placing in the JRA Cup (2040m) at Moonee Valley—his final workout prior to running third behind Half Yours in the Melbourne Cup.
With two light jump-outs behind him—including one this past Monday—the gelding heads into Saturday's race in good order.
National Assistant Trainer Jack Turnbull from the Ciaron Maher team noted the recent trial was designed to take the freshness out of Middle Earth.
"He trialled Monday and he's back five days later," Turnbull said.
"He's a high energy horse and he's been at Julien Welsh's because of his barrier antics.
"He gets quite hot and claustrophobic, so he trialled Monday to run Saturday on purpose to try and knock the edge off him.
"He's then headed up to Sydney and on to Brisbane for the Doomben Cup, the Q22 and races like that and have a prep aimed at the Cup again."
On Saturday, Middle Earth totes 61kg, identical to the weight carried by last year's winner Pride Of Jenni.
The Maher stable also fields endurance specialists Land Legend and Sayedaty Sadaty in the event.
This represents Land Legend's second run for Maher following time with Chris Waller, whereas Sayedaty Sadaty resumes after placing third in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington, coming off a Bendigo Cup (2400m) victory previously.
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