Caulfield Cup contender Kingswood to trial in Might And Power

Gavin Bedggood, the trainer of Kingswood, has the Caulfield Cup firmly in his sights, but a significant Group 1 race at Caulfield precedes that target.

The upcoming Might And Power (2000m) will serve as Kingswood's final preparation outing before he contests the Caulfield Cup (2400m) the following Saturday.

While Bedggood would welcome a victory in Saturday's 2000m weight-for-age contest, especially given the $600,000 prize money, his primary focus is on the imported galloper finishing strongly.

Kingswood embarked on a journey to New Zealand late last year, achieving success at Group 1 level before completing two more starts in the country. Since returning to Australia, he has shown a marked improvement in form across his two recent runs.

His comeback race saw him victorious over 1700m at Caulfield on August 29, followed by a fourth-place finish in the Underwood Stakes (1800m) on September 19.

In that race, he trailed Birdman, who is set to compete again on Saturday, and Cosmic Crusader, who was a winner at Flemington last week.

Kingswood was required to lead last start, and Bedggood indicated that ideally, he would prefer the horse to race with a sit.

"I don't want to see him ridden as close as he was last time. I don't want to see him have a hard run up on speed," Bedggood said.

"I'd love to see him settle third or fourth, getting a lovely run, and then banging the line."

Bedggood views Saturday's race as a crucial stepping stone in preparing Kingswood for a Caulfield Cup campaign.

The trainer has no doubts about Kingswood's ability to perform over the 2400m distance.

"He ran in a Zipping Classic at his only try at the trip, and the track went from a (good) four to a (heavy) nine on the day and it was too wet for him," Bedggood said.

"I don't think it was the mile-and-a-half, it was more the ground, so it is still a bit of question mark, but deep down, I don't think it will be an issue.

"He beat St George on Melbourne Cup Day last year and he's second favourite for the Caulfield Cup, so I don't think there's a lot between those two horses, and I take a gauge through that horses runs this campaign.

"There is also the option to take the winkers off him to get him to come back that peg or two if we need to next week."

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