Latest news with #Veight
News.com.au
16-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘His wheels spin': Tony McEvoy worried about heavy track for Veight in Group 1 Doomben 10,000
Tony McEvoy is worried about the prospect of a heavy surface for Saturday's Group 1 Doomben 10,000, lamenting that Veight's 'wheels spin' on bottomless tracks. The Victorian trainer also admits that Group 1 champion Veight is behind in his preparation for the Queensland winter carnival and should improve significantly from the 1200m run at Doomben. With showers predicted in Brisbane for Friday and Saturday, it would not surprise if the Doomben track is downgraded to heavy on race day. 'He's won on soft ground but his wheels spin on heavy tracks,' McEvoy said about Veight, who was $34 to win the Doomben 10,000 on Friday morning. 'If it's heavy it'll take a few lengths off him but if it's in the soft range then he'll be fine. 'I'd say the conditions are his biggest threat.' Veight was gelded after the $10m Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens in November when he finished second-last out of 20 runners following a poor spring campaign by his high standards. He was flying in the autumn last year, finishing runner-up to now retired stallion Southport Tycoon in the $1m Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) before winning his only major, the George Ryder Stakes (1500m). 'He had probably his first really good, long spell, he's come back gelded and he's a different horse now,' said McEvoy, who trains in partnership with his son Calvin. 'He's a bit behind where I was hoping to be with him to be quite honest coming into the 10,000. He'll run well but I think he'll show nice improvement out of this race. 'He just hasn't come up as quickly as I thought he would. He's very good fresh, he's three (wins) from four, but to my eye I reckon he's going to need this run.' • McEvoy said the decision to geld Veight was made easier after his stallion prospects dwindled, despite his triumph in the George Ryder Stakes last year. 'When you win a Group 1 you'd like the phone to ring and the phone just wasn't ringing,' the Ballarat trainer said. 'He obviously didn't have what people wanted so that made the gelding decision a bit easier. 'When you've got a colt with a nice pedigree and they win a proper Group 1 like the George Ryder, normally there's a bit of money attached to those but not in this case.' With regular rider Damian Lane away on a short-term contract in Japan, local jockey Andrew Mallyon will be on board Veight for the Doomben 10,000. 'He's not a hard horse to ride. Andrew's ridden a lot for me over the years so I'm happy to have him on,' McEvoy said. The trainer is confident that Veight will be back to his best for the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) in a fortnight and then hopefully the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) on June 14. 'I can't see why not. The horse seems normal to me at home. I think he's got a very good chance of getting back to that form,' McEvoy said.
New Paper
14-05-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Queensland well worth the Veight
BRISBANE Tony McEvoy admits the decision to geld Group 1 winner Veight was a tough one, but hopes it will be vindicated ahead of a trio of Queensland feature races during the Brisbane Winter Carnival. The 2024 George Ryder Stakes (1,500m) winner is set to resume in the A$1.5 million (S$1.15 million) Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1,200m) on May 17, and McEvoy, who trains in partnership with his son Calvin, says the Grunt four-year-old seems more relaxed as a gelding. "It wasn't an ideal decision to have to make, but we thought it was in the best interest of the horse," said McEvoy from Brisbane. "He seems very good, and he's acting right, which is great." A three-run Spring campaign struggled to get off the ground for Veight - pronounced as "vee-eight", named after the V8 engine - who finished 19th of 20 in the A$10 million Golden Eagle (1,500m) before a spell, with McEvoy admitting nothing went to plan. "It was a combination of things, really. He was obviously getting a little bit fussy in his thinking, and he drew some bad barriers," said the multiple Group 1 winning-trainer. "There were a few different factors, but we thought he'd be a better racehorse as a gelding." McEvoy has a traditional Brisbane campaign mapped out for Veight who has been in Brisbane for 12 days, with the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1,300m) on May 31 and Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1,400m) on June 14, both run at Eagle Farm, his likely progression. The Ballarat-based trainer is hesitant about the gelding's chances of chalking up a sixth victory on Saturday, especially if the ground is wet, but was pleased with the horse drawing barrier No. 9 in the field of 16, giving first-time partner Andrew Mallyon options. "Middle of the pack, that should allow Andrew to ride him where he's comfortable," said McEvoy. "He's not as forward as I would hope, but the run will improve him. "He's a very good horse, so he'll match it with them, provided he gets conditions to suit, but if the ground's wet, he'll struggle." Veight is a 25-1 chance in the market headed by 11-4 favourite Overpass, who finished second in the 2023 Doomben 10,000. The Bjorn Baker-trained sprinter, who recently failed to land a third consecutive The Quokka in Perth, has drawn barrier No. 10. Champion hoop James McDonald has been booked for 4-1 second-elect, the Annabel & Rob Archibald-trained Sunshine In Paris, who has once again drawn wide in barrier No. 14. Another top jockey, Craig Williams, who has won the past two Doomben 10,000's aboard Bella Nipotina and Giga Kick, has been booked to replace the suspended Blake Shinn aboard 9-2 chance Schwarz for trainers John O'Shea and Tom Charlton. McEvoy has yet to add his name to the winning roster of the 92-year-old feature, which includes notable graduates such as globetrotter Takeover Target (winner of the King's Stand at Ascot in 2006 and KrisFlyer Sprint at Kranji in 2008), two-time winner Apache Cat (2008 and 2009) and 2022 The Everest winner Giga Kick (2023), among others. Bella Nipotina also did the Doomben 10,000-The Everest double, but in the reverse order. Last year, Ciaron Maher's just-retired mighty mare beat I Wish I Win in a dramatic showdown, propelling her onto the world stage before she went on to take the world's richest turf race at A$20 million, five months later. The Doomben 10,000 is part of the rich Brisbane Winter Carnival or the Queensland Racing Carnival, which kicked off on May 3 with the Group 2 Queensland Guineas (1,600m) won by Depth Of Character for the Archibalds and ridden by an old Kranji acquaintance, the rejuvenated Noel Callow. Beyond the Doomben 10,000, the day also boasts the A$250,000 Group 3 Rough Habit Plate (2,000m), a lead-up race to the A$1 million Group 1 Queensland Derby (2,400m) on May 31. The juveniles will also get to fight it out in the A$300,000 Group 2 Spirit Of Boom Classic (1,200m), aiming to make their mark ahead of the highly anticipated A$1 million Group 1 JJ Atkins (1,600m) on June 14. SKY RACING WORLD
