A win by Bivouac in the Saturday’s Group 1 $1m De Bortoli Wines Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill could see him pitch a stake to fill a slot in the $14m The Everest (1200m).
Bivouac, above, is the favourite for the 2019 Golden Rose at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Godolphin’s Bivouac goes into the Golden Rose against the three year olds as the $2.60 favourite on the back of some outstanding winning form which includes a last start victory in the Group 2 $200,000 Sydney Markets Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill on September 14.
Godolphin will hold off on allocating a runner to their Everest slot until the Tuesday before the $14m Sprint which is to be decided on October 19 at Randwick.
“We don’t have to make a decision until the Tuesday before the race,” trainer James Cummings told Sky Racing.
“The Golden Rose is very much a fork in the road race for this horse.
“If he gets up and wins the Golden Rose, it has to be on the table.
“We will enter horses for the Sydney Stakes on the day and those horses are eligible for late call-up to The Everest like Osborne Bulls last year.”
Osborne Bulls finished third behind Redzel in the 2018 The Everest and is one of the main contenders for the Godolphin slot this year.
Bivouac has drawn barrier six in the eight horse Golden Rose field with Hugh Bowman back in the saddle returning from a broken finger and Cummings said that the Exceed And Excel colt is going into the $1m race for the three year olds in great shape.
“This race gives Bivouac the opportunity to prove himself as the best colt in Sydney,” Cummings said.
“He beat himself in the San Domenico and then showed his right form last start.”
“But that win was less about redeeming himself than about advancing himself.
“He had already shown he was a superior colt in his two-year-old campaign.
“There has got to be something said about the quality he has shown.”
Bowman was aboard Bivouac for a first up win in the Group 3 $160,000 Vain Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 17 before the pair were beaten into second spot behind Exceedance in the Group 3 $160,000 Sky Racing Active San Domenico Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on August 31.
Bivouac will be lining up again against Exceedance in the Golden Rose and the Team Hawkes trained colt will load into barrier seven with regular rider Tommy Berry in the saddle again.
Exceedance is on the second line of Golden Rose betting at Ladbrokes.com.au at $4.80 just ahead of the Chris Waller trained Yes Yes Yes at $5.50.
Betting for the 2019 Golden Rose at Ladbrokes.com.au: $2.60 Bivouac, $4.80 Exceedance, $5.50 Yes Yes Yes, $6 Yao Dash, $11 Castelvecchio, Kubrick, $26 Prince Fawaz, $31 Dawn Passage.
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