Cup champ Knight's Choice set for exhibition gallop on Sunshine Coast
Melbourne Cup champion Knight's Choice is slated for an exhibition gallop at Breakfast With The Stars at Caloundra on Tuesday but forecast wet weather on the Sunshine Coast threatens to scupper that plan.
The John Symons and Sheila Laxon -trained gelding hasn't raced since his epic victory in last November's Melbourne Cup as a $91 roughie, with a fetlock injury and southeast Queensland's atrocious weather ruining hopes of a comeback in the back half of the 2024-25 season.
Symons said he had organised an exhibition gallop for Knight's Choice at Caloundra, which will host the final day of the carnival this weekend featuring the $300,000 Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m).
'If it doesn't rain too much, I've organised a gallop at Breakfast With The Stars here on Tuesday for him,' Symons said.
However with up to 30mm of rain predicted for the Sunshine Coast on Monday, Symons could decide to save Knight's Choice for a spring campaign in Melbourne leading up to his Cup defence.
'He'll be going south shortly (to Macedon Lodge in Victoria),' Symons said.
Last year Knight's Choice competed in Group 1 contests the Underwood Stakes (ninth), Turnbull Stakes (16th), Caulfield Cup (14th) and then the Group 3 Bendigo Cup (fifth) before Irishman Robbie Dolan rode him to a massive upset in the race that stops a nation.
What did we just witness?! 🤯
KNIGHT'S CHOICE holds on to win the 2024 Lexus Melbourne Cup!
🎥 @wwos | #MelbourneCup | #MelbCupCarnival pic.twitter.com/Ok2GKUTm0I
— Victoria Racing Club (@FlemingtonVRC) November 5, 2024
'We might start him off a little bit earlier because obviously he hasn't raced for a long time and then end up with the Cup, I hope,' Symons said.
'He could have a mile race prior to that. We'll let him tell us when he's ready to go.
'He hates wet tracks so we're trying to avoid them this year.'
Symons and his wife Laxon had planned to run Knight's Choice in this month's $1.2 million Group 2 Q22, the 2200m race in which he finished second to Fawkner Park last year, but the constant rain in Brisbane over the past few months ruined that program.
'He throws his legs around on wet tracks,' Symons said.
'We didn't want to risk forcing him to get to the Q22 so we elected to wait and do it this way. Hopefully it's the right decision. 'The wet weather has been really frustrating.
'He's been in work for a long time and he's bursting out of his skin (to race).'
Knight's Choice was initially earmarked to make his comeback in the All-Star Mile, won by Tom Kitten, back in March but bruised his fetlock in the paddock at Macedon Lodge in the lead-up to the $2.5 million feature at Flemington.
'He ran in the Caloundra Cup last year (finishing fourth) so he's a flagship horse for the club,' Sunshine Coast Turf Club boss John Miller said on Sunday.
'Anything they (Symons and Laxon) want to do we try to help them out and they try to help us out with promoting the club.'
Knight's Choice won the 2023 Group 3 Winx Guineas (1600m), another feature race this weekend as the winter carnival draws to a close.
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