O'BRIEN DECLARES VOW READY FOR CAULFIELD CUP

A surgical approach to his preparation could land Danny O’Brien another Caulfield Cup with Vow And Declare.

O’Brien trained the quinella with Master O’Reilly beat home Douro Valley in the 2007 Caulfield Cup and prepared the 2008 third placegetter Barbaricus.

Vow And Declare will go into the Caulfield Cup second-up after running a solid first-up fourth in the Group I Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

The Turnbull Stakes was the first of a planned three-run campaign for Vow And Declare with the Melbourne Cup the only other goal on O’Brien’s radar with the gelding.

O’Brien has no worries about the four-year-old’s fitness going into Saturday’s Caulfield Cup.

O’Brien said Vow And Declare was a genuine stayer and it was pointless running him in shorter races.

“He’s a mile and a half horse and a two-mile horse so his aim is the Melbourne Cup,” O’Brien said.

“He’s never been out of work since the winter. He won a 3000m race up in the Queensland, the Tatt’s Cup, and he has been down at the beach.

“What was the point of running him in shorter races? He’s not a miler.

“He has only raced with an eye on the Melbourne Cup.”

Vow And Declare was 23rd in the Caulfield Cup order of entry on Monday morning but his spot in Saturday’s race was all but secured with attrition on Monday and Tuesday.

Sportsbet has Vow And Declare on the fifth line of betting as an $11 chance in its latest Caulfield Cup market. O’Brien expects the son of Declaration Of War to live up to his high standing in the betting.

“He’ll run very well,” O’Brien said.

“If they run well in the Turnbull. They generally run well in the Caufield Cup, especially if they’re well handicapped.”

Vow And Declare will have the services of jockey Craig Williams in the Caulfield Cup.

Williams won the 2011 Caulfield Cup on Southern Speed before repeating that result on Dunaden a year later.

Below is a replay of Vow And Declare's final track gallop before the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday morning.

Story by Brad Waters for Racenet

Photo by Racing Photos