Cat’s eye on northern prize

By Brad Kingsbury
GREG Eurell cannot hide the excitement in his voice when he talks about the prospects of his stable star Apache Cat.
The Cranbourne horseman has been involved in the racing industry for almost 19 years and has experienced many of the pitfalls associated with the business, but after last Saturday’s dominant win by his high-class galloper in the T.S. Carlyon Cup, there is nothing but anticipation in Eurell’s words.
“Yes, Apache’s the best I’ve had so far, for sure,” he said. “He pulled up without a problem and is still on the improve. It’s an exciting time.”
The baldy-faced four-year-old gelding is on track for a trip to Sydney to compete against the nation’s best ‘milers’ in the Group 1 Doncaster Handicap in April.
It will be the horse’s second attempt at the Doncaster after he made the journey north as a three-year-old last year, but finished at the back of the field after a tough run.
Eurell rates the 2006 Group 1 Cadbury Guineas winner a better and more mature horse this campaign and said, all going well, Apache Cat will have two more starts before having another crack at the Doncaster Handicap.
“He will go to the Blamey Stakes in three weeks and then go up (to Sydney) and run in the George Main Stakes over 1500 metres,” he said. “All going well, the Doncaster will be his goal.”
The trainer has returned Apache Cat to his ideal distance range of about 1600 metres after the son of Lion Cavern failed to run out the distance in last spring’s Turnbull Stakes (2000 metres) and WS Cox Plate (2040).
Eurell said that, because of its perceived lower-profile breeding compared to some of its high-priced rivals, Apache Cat had often slipped under the guard in the past, but that would now change.
“It’s a funny industry like that,” he mused. “People look at the breeding and tend to dismiss horses before they’ve had any chance at all.
“That tends to reflect some people’s perspective, I suppose, (but) they know that he’s a genuine weight-for-age Group class horse now,” he said.
Leading Melbourne jockey Damien Oliver will likely take the ride on Apache Cat in its next start with a view to continuing the partnership in its coming Sydney campaign.
Eurell, a two-time Australian equestrian representative before moving to the thoroughbred training ranks, is enjoying a successful period with his champion two-year-old Shrewd Rhythm adding to his joy on the weekend, finishing third in the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes.
He and his fiance, Danielle Ellett, who is also the stable’s main trackwork rider, have formed a strong and successful team, which is set to take on the big metropolitan stables for some of the autumn’s major race prizes.