Brian Ellison’s Northumberland Plate hero Onesmoothoperator bids to confirm his place in the Melbourne Cup when he lines up in the Ladbrokes Geelong Cup on Wednesday.
The six-year-old brought the house down at Newcastle in June when providing proud Geordie Ellison with a previously elusive victory in the ‘Pitmen’s Derby’, since when he has finished seventh in the Ebor at York and fourth behind star mare Kalpana in the September Stakes at Kempton.
Ellison reports his stable star to have settled in well to his new surroundings in Melbourne and he currently sits 32nd in the order of entry for the big one on November 5, with a maximum field of 24 set to go to post at Flemington.
Onesmoothoperator is therefore not yet guaranteed a starting berth in the famous race, but has the opportunity to book his ticket at Geelong.
“He’s working on all the time and obviously it’s different training because he’s working on a round, flat track, but I couldn’t be happier with him,” said Ellison.
“He’s eating well and doing well and gets vetted every week and has passed them all. He got scanned last week and passed that and vetted again this (Tuesday) morning and passed that.
“We think he has to finish in the first two or three tomorrow to guarantee himself a run (in the Melbourne Cup). We’ve had a bit of rain and thunder and lightning and last weekend the ground would have been soft, but they tell me it’s going to be nice ground on Wednesday. I just hope they go a nice gallop that’s all.”
While Ellison is confident of a bold showing in Geelong, the Malton-based trainer believes there is room for progress in the fitness department.
He added: “I do think he’ll improve a lot from the run. Even though we’re hoping he’ll run well and is fit enough to win if he’s going to win, I think he’ll improve for it.
“The owners are here, it’s the first time they’ve been out and they’re enjoying it, so fingers crossed for a bit of luck in running and hopefully the horse performs well.”
His rivals include Vow And Declare, the 2019 Melbourne Cup winner and the former James Ferguson-trained duo of Francesco Guardi and El Bodegon.
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