Mornington Cup next step for Ambassadorial's Caulfield Cup ambitions
Since transferring to the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable, Ambassadorial has proven to be a genuine find.
His initial campaign was with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, followed by a period under Alex Rae at Cranbourne prior to his latest move.
Ambassadorial notched three successes from 12 attempts with Waterhouse and Bott, then endured eight startless runs with Rae despite earning placings at Moonee Valley.
For the McEvoy training partnership, in five races the horse has never been out of the placings, prevailing in his past three engagements.
On Saturday, Ambassadorial seeks to prolong that run in the Listed Mornington Cup (2400m).
In addition to the $180,000 winner's purse, the Mornington Cup delivers a ballot exemption to the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) in October for the champion.
This weekend will see Ambassadorial tackle 2400m for the initial occasion, but his three straight wins for the McEvoys were at 2000m, most notably the Group 3 Easter Cup on April 4.
According to Calvin McEvoy, the horse had emerged 'perfect' post that race, making it an opportune juncture to stretch him out, especially given the Caulfield Cup incentive.
"He's come through it (the Easter Cup) really well," McEvoy said.
"He's come out of it better than he went into it."
The step-up in trip from 2000m might intimidate others, but McEvoy expects Ambassadorial to cope well after progressing from BM70 to open ranks this season and consistently improving.
"He's a lovely horse and the test will be the mile-and-a-half and I'm excited to see if he'll handle it," McEvoy said.
"(Being at) Mornington, the way he races, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but they gave him 15 points following that win, so there's nowhere to hide now after winning that Group 3."
A capacity field of 14 acceptors and four reserves contest the Mornington Cup, all vying for the Caulfield Cup pathway.
Defending victor Bankers Choice campaigns anew at 60kg, a 3kg increase from last year.
The lineup also boasts Brayden Star, American Wolf and Immediacy out of the Trent Busuttin/Natalie Young stable, joined by Sea What I See, runner-up in the Easter Cup.
Find the leading online bookmakers offering markets for the Mornington Cup.
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