Bauer - Luca Cumaini - Simon O'Donnell - Terry Henderson - OTI Racing - Manighar - Becqu Adoree - Stansill

RacingPost.com.au

Bauer camp eye another crack at Melbourne Cup

BY ANDREW SCUTTS 9:15AM 10 JUN 2010

Australia: Bauer, beaten a nose in the 2008 Emirates Melbourne Cup, is progressing well from injury and connections are eyeing another crack at the prestigious Flemington contest, which will be run for the 150th time this year.

The Luca Cumani-trained stayer is set to step up his training regime next month with a view at going one better than two years ago when he was defeated by Viewed.

"The scans have all been clean, which is pleasing and the horse has been in work a long time now with the intention of coming back to Melbourne for this year's Cup," part-owner Simon O'Donnell said on Thursday.

"He's built up from walking to cantering and trotting and will start his serious race gallops in July.

"The intention is to give him two or three runs in Europe and assuming all goes well and the horse pleases Luca, then he'll be headed back to Melbourne."

Bauer emerged from a crop of more highly fancied international raiders in 2008 to win the Geelong Cup before narrowly losing out in an epic Melbourne Cup.

"He was one of those imports that improved out of sight when he got to this hemisphere," O'Donnell added.

"He grew in stature from the minute he arrived, he loved the firm ground and the Cup was run in a manner that year that suited him."

Bauer is one of four European horses that O'Donnell and Terry Henderson's OTI Racing are preparing for a tilt at this year's Spring Racing Carnival and ultimately the Melbourne Cup on November 2.

The Cumani-trained Manighar, who is owned by OTI Racing and the Honourable EarleMack, is also a Cup contender and O'Donnell said: "We were particularly pleased with his debut run [for Cumani]. We were pleased to see him running so well on good ground because it was the one box he hadn't ticked.

"The run the other night gave us a lot of confidence that he has the qualities to be a Cup horse if he continues in the right direction."

Another Cumani possible is Becqu Adoree, who was eighth of nine on her British debut last month.

"She was not as bright as we'd hoped, but she played up in the gates beforehand and has come on since then," O'Donnell said.

"We're expecting an improved showing next time out."

OTI could also be represented by John Smith's Northumberland Plate candidate Stansill, who is trained by Alan Swinbank.