Zakouma's Mornington Cup hopes hinge on ballot for Begg
Grahame Begg, the trainer, points out two key obstacles for Zakouma in his pursuit of the Mornington Cup alongside the capable stayer.
Saturday's Listed Mornington Cup (2400m) grants the winner entry exemption into October's Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), positioning it as a perfect lead-up for unbeaten Zakouma after three starts this season.
The handler frets over the narrow Mornington layout, yet the primary concern remains gaining entry to the contest.
With a field restricted to 14 plus four emergencies, Zakouma holds position 21 in the nomination order.
Declarations for the final field are due Wednesday.
"He's a pretty nice horse and if he can get a run, he'll definitely run, but that will be the challenge, getting a run," Begg said.
"He's so lowly rated, he's only got a benchmark rating of 78, but he is a promising horse.
"Having a look at the form, there is a bit of a tail to the race, there's plenty of horses that are out of form, but they've got a higher benchmark on previous form from previous campaigns.
"He looks like he'll run the trip, but the biggest thing for him would be getting around Mornington because he likes to be relaxed in the early part of his races."
Daniel Stackhouse is locked in to partner Zakouma if he gets into the race, otherwise Begg plans to direct the gelding toward a 2000m benchmark 100 at Flemington on Anzac Day.
According to Begg, success in Saturday's Mornington Cup would prompt a break targeting the Caulfield Cup, but pushing the gelding further, especially beyond Flemington seven days on, appears unlikely.
"The Andrew Ramsden would be unlikely, and we would be unlikely to travel interstate at this stage," Begg said.
"We'd prefer to just stay in our lane."
In 2021, Begg's Nonconformist filled second in the Mornington Cup before repeating the placing behind Incentivise in the 2026 Caulfield Cup.
The gelding began this campaign victoriously at Caulfield Heath (1600m), then triumphed at Sandown (1800m) and Flemington (2000m, heavy) on March 28.
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