YOUNG WERTHER READY FOR ANOTHER CRACK AT INCENTIVISE
There won’t be a better time for Young Werther to thrust himself into the limelight than Saturday’s $5m Caulfield Cup.
It’s hard to believe Young Werther only has a Geelong maiden success in the win column but he has still banked more than $850,000 for his connections in 10 starts.
Young Werther finished third to the Denis Pagan-trained Johnny Get Angry in last year’s Victoria Derby before going down narrowly to Explosive Jack in the Australian Derby in Sydney in April.
Young Werther could be a dual Derby winner with any luck, but O’Brien said the son of Tavistock has long been a Caulfield Cup hope for the stable.
It was just going to take a bit of time.
“We’ve really been thinking about this race since this time last year,” O’Brien said.
“He had a nice little campaign in Sydney and he just got touched out in the Derby.
“He was always going to be a horse that was going to mature into a lovely four-year-old because he was quite immature as a three-year-old.”
O’Brien quinellaed the 2007 Caulfield Cup with Master O’Reilly and Douro Valley.
Master O’Reilly went into the Caulfield Cup after winning the Herbert Power Stakes while Douro Valley performed strongly in the race after a good fourth in that year’s Turnbull Stakes.
Young Werther had his final Caulfield Cup lead-up run in the Turnbull Stakes on October 2 where he finished second to raging Cup favourite Incentivise.
Young Werther ran Incentivise to a half-length in the Turnbull Stakes.
O’Brien said the step to 2400m would give Young Werther the chance to make up the half-length difference in the Caulfield Cup.
“The Turnbull is usually a really good form race heading toward both (Caulfield and Melbourne) Cups and Young Werther produced a pretty solid run in the Turnbull,” O’Brien said.
“Incentivise is quite rightly the favourite, he’s coming off two really impressive Group 1 victories but it’s a big handicap and we’ve only got 52.5kg.
“The 2400m is up our alley, and possibly even further.
“We’re going in with a realistic chance of upsetting him but we understand it’s not going to be easy.”
Young Werther’s jockey Daniel Moor said the Young Werther camp respected Incentivise but he noted the favourite’s terrible draw of barrier 18 was a help to his rivals.
“We’re not fearful of Incentivise but very respectful all the same because he’s a very good horse with freakish qualities,” Moor said.
“The draw probably throws a bit more of a spanner in the works of that camp than it does for us.
“We’ve got a good draw and a light weight so we’re part of the way there.”
Young Werther has firmed from $11 to $10 in TAB’s post-barrier draw betting market.
Incentivise has eased from $2.40 to $2.60 but will start favourite in the Caulfield Cup.
By Brad Waters for Racenet
Pics by Racing Photos