Cumani looks to future
Luca Cumani feels his assault on the Melbourne Cup with Glistening has taught him a lot, and that when he returns to tackle the race again he will do things differently.
Glistening only gained a run when the Victoria Racing Committee used its discretionary powers on Saturday night to ballot out local stayer Count Ricardo.
Cumani’s charge then ran a solid race to finish 10th in the two-mile feature, despite being trapped wide throughout in the race won by Japanese raider Delta Blues.
Cumani revealed that he plans to take a leaf out of the book of successful trainer Katsuhiko Sumii and travel to Australia earlier next time around.
Sumii ran Delta Blues and Melbourne Cup runner-up Pop Rock in the Caulfield Cup on October 21, in which they endured luckless runs in finishing third and seventh respectively.
The benefit of that experience was not lost on Cumani, who said: “It seems to be helpful if you have a race beforehand.
“Even Land ’N Stars ran a good race today having run before (when finishing last of 18 in the Caulfield Cup). I would bring my horses out earlier next time.”
The British-based trainer also feels he has learned exactly what type of horse he needs to bring with him when he returns to Melbourne in the future.
“You need to have a horse that stays two miles and has a bit of a turn of foot that can get a position, and after that you need luck in running,” he explained.
Following a Japanese one-two, last year’s Melbourne Cup-winning trainer, Lee Freedman, is expecting an even bigger international challenge next year but sees the Cup going overseas again as an inspiration.
“It is great to see it happen but the rest of us (Australian trainers) must lift the bar now,” he said.
Wayne Hawkes, stable foreman for the powerful John Hawkes team that saddled Railings (12th), Headturner (13th) and Dizelle (17th) in the Cup, agrees with Freedman.
“It is going to be harder to win it from here on in I think,” he said after watching the race.
