Beers for Baker as Bonneval cleared for Caulfield Cup

Ben Dorries - Thursday October 19

Relieved Murray Baker was off to have a beer after Bonneval was cleared to run in Saturday's Caulfield Cup, ending five days of speculation on whether the Kiwi mare would start in the rich race.

Murray Baker was keen to have a beer (or several) after Bonneval was cleared to run in the Caulfield Cup

Baker felt the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders late on Thursday and also felt justified as he had insisted for several days there was nothing wrong with his mare.

"I'm relieved it's all OK, now I can go and have a beer and that's what I'll be doing," Baker said.

Bonneval was inspected by two Racing Victoria vets on Thursday afternoon who cleared her to run in Saturday's Caulfield Cup, a day after RV vets had found she was "one out of five lame".

RV chairman of stewards Terry Bailey was also at the Thursday afternoon inspection of Bonneval, with the mare trotting up to the satisfaction of the vets.

"Two of our vets looked at her and we also got his (Baker's) vet to do scans of the front leg," Bailey said.

"Those scans showed nothing of concern and she trotted up OK.

"She has been passed to race in the Caulfield Cup."

Baker had always been convinced the mare had been fine to run in the Caulfield Cup despite suffering cuts to her offside hind leg and being found to be lame in her near side leg after last Saturday's Group I Caulfield Stakes.

Jockey Kerrin McEvoy also insisted the mare was sound in her action when he galloped her on the dirt at Flemington early on Thursday morning.

Bonneval has drifted to as much as $9.50 with some bookmakers in Caulfield Cup betting.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Best On Breeding
Despite being a stakes-placed daughter of Redoute's Choice from a family chockful of stakes-winners, Pleiades had worn out her welcome after eight seasons at Darley Stud and found herself in the Godolphin consignment heading to the 2023 Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale.
Sires With Winners - Thursday July 4
Here is the full list of 33 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Quality trio of Rich Hill mares in National Online Breeding Stock Sale
Partly thanks to the meteoric rise of Rich Hill Stud stallions Proisir and Satono Aladdin, the three well-credentialled broodmare prospects being offered by the stud on Gavelhouse Plus this week are among the highest-profile entries in the 2024 National Online Breeding Stock Sale.
Sires With Winners - Friday July 5
Here is the full list of 44 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Mares in foal Proisir, Too Darn Hot, Anamoe Highlight Strong Inglis July (Early) Sale
A mare with one of the hottest current pedigrees in the Australian Stud Book – in foal to sire sensation Proisir – headlines a quality catalogue for the Inglis Digital July (Early) Online Sale.
One to Watch – Sale
Bred to be an Oaks filly, this Kiwi bred two year-old filly made a winning debut at Sale on Thursday carrying the famous Pride of Jenni colours.
Sidestep Filly Wins by Five
A few weeks ago we made mention of the promising trial performance from Winx’s two year-old three-quarter sister Wings of Desire, who surged home for second in a heat at Randwick won by three year-old filly Are Ee Que, who franked that form when bolting in at Goulburn on Friday.
Lovatsville Stallion Parades - RSVP Here
Innovative new Victorian enterprise Lovatsville will open the gates in August for a series of stallion parades showcasing four exciting young sires in Royal Meeting (IRE), Gold Trip (Fr), Generation and Fierce Impact (Jpn), who will have his first runners next season.
Zoustar Cracks 200 Australian Winners for Season
Widden Stud’s champion sire Zoustar was the world’s leading sire of winners in 2023 and passed a milestone on Friday when racking up his 200th Australian winner of the season and shortly after his 201st!
Entries Open for the World’s Best Breeze Up Sale
Entries for NZB’s 2024 Ready to Run Sale of Two-Year-Olds are now open, with the Sale set to be held at the Karaka Sales Centre on 20 and 21 November.