19 Oct 2024Athabascan confirmed he was on target for a crack at the G1 Melbourne Cup when he produced a superior staying performance to return to winning form at Randwick.
The John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained son of Almanzor was trimmed to $26 for the Flemington feature following his victory in the G3 St Leger Stakes over 2600 metres.
“That (the Cup) has been on our agenda all season, we just needed a positive run to get him back in the game,” O’Shea said.
“I think he drops five or six kilos into the Cup and he’ll run a very good race because he’s a good two-miler. We look forward to the first Tuesday in November.”
The French-bred six-year-old lobbed along in fourth spot away from the fence before improving wide across the top and he held a sustained gallop to score.
Athabascan began his career in France with champion trainer Andre Fabre and was a maiden winner over 2000 metres before placing at stakes level and was subsequently purchased by OTI Racing.
He is a half-brother to the G1 Tancred Stakes winner Arapaho with their dam the Dansili mare Alzubra, whose five victories featured the Listed Prix Dahlia.
Athabascan has now won on four occasions with previous successes including the G3 Colin Stephen Handicap and the Listed Tattersalls Club Cup and was runner-up in last season’s G1 Sydney Cup.