Americain Geelong Cup

Geelong Advertiser
Bradley Green

A CONTINENTAL Europe flavour could be added to next month's $215,000 Centrebet Geelong Cup (2406m).

Leading French trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre is considering entering classy stayer Americain in the Group 3 race on October 21 as an ideal hitout for his Melbourne Cup (3200m) campaign.

Americain is owned by several prominent Melbourne businessmen - including Gerry Ryan - and is due to arrive at Werribee's new international quarantine centre on AFL grand final day.

Americain has placed in 11 of his 18 starts, including six wins.

The lightly-raced six-year-old has won his last three starts, including the Group 2 Kergolay Stakes (3000m) in his last start on August 22 where he edged out the Luca Cumani-trained Maighar who is also bound for Melbourne.

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The Geelong Racing Club's business development manager John Dunne said they were also hopeful Cumani may also enter a runner in the Geelong Cup for the third straight year.

Cumani won the Geelong Cup in 2008 with Bauer while Basaltico was unplaced last year.

Drunken Sailor, a last winner over 2800m at Goodwood a fortnight ago, could be the stable's contender.

The six-year-old currently sits 42nd on the Melbourne Cup's order of entry with 53kg while Cumani has also not ruled out a return for Bauer, who is now an eight-year-old and hasn't raced for more than a year because of a tendon injury.

Dunne said the powerful Godolphin stable - which had its first Geelong Cup runner in Crime Scene last year - was unlikey to return this year as is team is not due to arrive down under in time.

Dunne said it was fantastic that more European horses were targeting a Melbourne Cup start through the Geelong Cup following the success of Bauer and the Dermot Weld-trained Media Puzzle (2002).

"There's no doubt the win of Bauer has been a great fillip for the Geelong Cup," Dunne said.

"Because Luca Cumani then went back home and told his fellow international trainers that probably the preferred pathway to the Melbourne Cup is through the Geelong Cup, being 10 days out (from the Group 1 race).

"Last year we had two international horses contest the Cup for the first time and this year were hoping to have at least that many again, if not more.

"In recent years the Geelong Cup winner has got about a one-and-a-half to two kilogram penalty which boosts them to a sufficient weight to get a run in the Melbourne Cup, so that's the big plus for our race."

Meanwhile, it's believed that the ambassadors for this year's Geelong Cup will be announced this week.