Wide draws for McKee stars

BY TIM BARTON

Stephen McKee might be tempted to adopt 16 as his lucky number if things go his way this weekend.

The Ardmore trainer is tackling feature races with his glamour gallopers Culminate and Mufhasa tomorrow and both drew barrier sixteen.

Culminate will start favourite in the $80,000 Group III Postponed Classic (1400m) at Hawera while Mufhasa will take on tougher company in the A$350,000 Group I Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield, in Melbourne.

Mufhasa, the reigning New Zealand Horse of the Year, failed in the Windsor Park Plate at Hastings at his last start but the Toorak, which is usually one of the softer Group I races at the Melbourne carnival, looks an ideal target.

The presence of Racing To Win, who has earned A$3.6 million, has compressed the Toorak weights and Mufhasa will carry 54.5kg, just 2.5kg above the minimum, and 3.5kg less than Racing To Win.

That is a competitive weight for a horse who won six of his eight starts in New Zealand last term and has been Group I-placed at weight-for-age in Sydney.

His Sydney placing came behind Vision And Power and Black Piranha, on a heavy track at Rosehill, and he was off-colour when he failed in the Doncaster Handicap (1600m) at Randwick at his next start.

In addition, McKee has always believed that Mufhasa is better on left-hand tracks.

Mufhasa was only just beaten, after being trapped wide, when he resumed in the Mudgway Stakes (1400m) at Hastings and started a $3 favourite for the Windsor Park Plate.

However, he was among a number of runners who struggled on the slow track and also had to work hard early, from an awkward draw.

Another wide draw is unlikely to be an advantage tomorrow but he is a horse who prefers a bit of room and there has also been a change of rider, with Damien Oliver replacing Sam Spratt.

Spratt rode Mufhasa in his Sydney campaign but the horse's connections have plumped for local knowledge in Melbourne.

Ironically, Spratt will be in Melbourne this weekend, to take part in a female riders' series at Moonee Valley tonight.

The Mufhasa mount gives Oliver a chance to plug a rare gap in his CV. Oliver, 37, has won eight Melbourne premierships and 82 Group I races, but never the Toorak.

Few other Melbourne features have escaped him in a career that has produced four Caulfield Cup wins and two wins apiece in the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate.

Oliver will partner the English galloper Cima De Triomphe in next week's Caulfield Cup and has a strong book tomorrow, with his other mounts including the $2.40 favourite Whobegotyou in the Group I Yalumba Stakes and Apache Cat in the Group II Schillaci Stakes.

Mufhasa, who races as King Mufhasa in Australia, is at $12 for the Toorak on the New Zealand TAB and at $16 with TAB Sportsbet in Australia.

The favourite on both sides of the Tasman is the Patinack Farm entire Raheeb, who ran fifth in the 2008 Toorak, behind Alamosa.

Raheeb has yet to win at 1600m, from six attempts, but has produced three sounds runs this preparation, all from wide barriers. He drew the outside of the 16-horse field when winning over 1400m at Flemington at his last start and has an inside barrier tomorrow.

The much improved Raffaello was a $6 second favourite ahead of Black Piranha at $6.50 and Gold Salute at $10.

Raffaello has turned his form around since being with prominent Melbourne trainer Mark Kavanagh and five starts from the Kavanagh stable have produced three wins and two placings.

The Encosta De Lago entire was the runner-up to Kelt Stakes placegetter Miss Maren in the Easter Cup (2000m) at Caulfield at his final start last term and has produced two good runs this spring. He beat Vigor over 1200m when resuming and then came from last at the 400m to run third in the Group I Rupert Clarke (1400m) at Caulfield.

Culminate is the class horse in the weight-for-age Postponed Classic and rated six points superior to any of her rivals in the handicap ratings.

She has returned a dividend in 21 of her 26 starts and been a Group I performer in both New Zealand and Australia.

She won fresh-up with 58.5kg over 1200m at Tauranga before finishing a close fifth, beaten just a length, behind Daffodil in the Windsor Park at Hastings.

"The mile was probably a touch too far for her on a wet track [at Hastings]," rider Leith Innes said. "She started to lug in over the last 150m and I think she would have been first, second or third on a firm track.

"She's definitely improved with the run and has been working well. She's never run a bad race in her life and will be hard to beat [at Hawera] at set weights.

"She has drawn out but is pretty adaptable and will probably settle in the first half-dozen," Innes said.

Culminate has recorded five of her nine wins on good ground but has also won three races on slow tracks and won the Group I Otaki-Maori WFA in February on a heavy track.

The six-year-old is also on trial for a trip to Melbourne, with a winning run likely to confirm a tilt at the A$500,000 Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on October 31.

- © Fairfax NZ News