Hunter syndicators Australian Bloodstock hope a month between runs will prove a winning move when Red Cardinal tries to book a third consecutive Melbourne Cup (3200m) start on Wednesday at Geelong.
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The eight-year-old gelding will race in the group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m) as a last shot at securing a weight penalty to rise up the order of entry for the race that stops a nation on November 5.
The Kris Lees-trained veteran was 59th in the order and was one of several chasing a start in the 24-horse, $7.75 million race with a victory in the Geelong Cup.
A $17 chance at Geelong with TAB Fixed Odds, Red Cardinal will run second up after a solid effort when fifth in the Newcastle Cup (2300m) on September 20.
Kerrin McEvoy has the ride from gate 10, the second widest barrier on Wednesday.
The import's two wins in Australia have come on wet ground and Australian Bloodstock co-director Luke Murrell was hoping this week for rain in Geelong. That looked unlikely on Tuesday and the race was set to go ahead on a good surface.
"He drew wide and he looks one of four chances, but he'd have to win and he probably runs second or third to be honest," Murrell said of Red Cardinal booking a Melbourne Cup start.
"He does love the wet and there was supposed to be a bit of rain, but he loves his races spaced, and I think that's just as important.
"His sectionals were great in the Newcastle Cup, so I think he is going OK. Kerrin will give him his chance, it's just if he can sprint with them when they go."
Red Cardinal was injured on the firm Flemington surface when 11th in the 2017 Melbourne Cup and he was last to finish in 2018 when he got his tongue over the bit.
The run last year has been in focus in recent weeks after Fairfax Media reported that a video allegedly of Red Cardinal being shocked with a jigger just days before the race was part of Victoria Police's case against then-trainer Darren Weir, foreman Jarrod McLean stablehand Tyson Kermond. They were charged with criminal mistreatment of animals and conspiring to defraud racing stewards, and were listed to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Red Cardinal won his first two starts for Lees after coming to Newcastle from Weir, who was disqualified for four years in February.
He is one of four horses from Australian Bloodstock chasing a Melbourne Cup start over the next week.
The Chris Waller-trained Shraaoh, 28th in the Cup order, will push on if he runs well in the Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) on Saturday.
The William Haggas-trained Raheen House (41st) will chase a penalty-earning win in the Bendigo Cup (2400m) next Wednesday. The Lees-trained Attention Run (57th) will do likewise this Saturday in the City Tattersalls Club Cup (2400m) at Randwick.
Mustajeer (15th) will next run in the Melbourne Cup, while Lees stablemate Big Duke (31st) will race if he proves his recovery from a cardiac arrhythmia suffered when last in the Caulfield Cup on Saturday.
Lees has said Big Duke, which was fourth in the 2017 Melbourne Cup, would likely next race in the group 3 Hotham Handicap (2500m) at Flemington on November 2.
