No Melbourne Cup for Sharp ‘N’ Smart

[Wandering Eyes]

Sharp ‘N’ Smart will be lining up on Melbourne Cup Day, it just won’t be at Flemington.

The former New Zealand Horse of the Year was guaranteed a start in next month’s Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m), being 23^rd in order of entry, but his connections have decided to bypass the $10 million feature despite his pleasing third place finish in last Saturday’s Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at Ellerslie.

After a meeting with his owners on Monday, trainers Graeme and Debbie Rogerson have decided to keep the multiple Group One winner at home and target the Gr.3 Elsdon Park Balmerino Stakes (2000m) at Ellerslie on the first Tuesday in November instead.

“Two miles might be just too soon,” Graeme Rogerson said. “After talking with all the owners today, he is running at Ellerslie on Melbourne Cup Day and then we are going to make up our minds on what we do with him then.

“Hopefully he has a good summer campaign, and we will be looking at Sydney at some stage.”

While Rogerson has decided against heading to Melbourne, he was buoyed by the way his gelding performed on Saturday where he showed glimpses of his former Group One-winning self.

“He is on the way back,” Rogerson said. “He is a little bit like his old self. He got a little bit out of his ground when that horse (El Vencedor) took off, but he certainly made up a lot of ground.

“The track was beautiful. He is not hopeless in the wet, but he is a better dry track horse.”

Rogerson now has his eye on some autumn targets with his six-year-old gelding, particularly on Champions Day at Ellerslie on March 7, with the Hamilton horseman considering both the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) and Gr.2 Auckland Cup (3200m).

“He doesn’t have to improve a lot for the Bonecrusher,” he said. “I don’t know what weight he would get in the Auckland Cup, but we will just wait and see.”

Sharp ‘N’ Smart’s withdrawal leaves only two remaining New Zealand-trained contenders for the Melbourne Cup, with the Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained Mark Twain and Raymond Connors-trained Trav still in the hunt to gain a place in the 24-horse field.

Meanwhile, Rogerson was happy enough with stablemate Solidify’s seventh placing in the Livamol on Saturday.

“He looked good,” Rogerson said. “He will either run at Tauranga or Tauherenikau.”

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