Count Octave heading Down Under for Melbourne Cup challenge
Andrew Balding's four-year-old pushed Stradivarius close at York in the Lonsdale Cup
SMART STAYER Count Octave will head Down Under for the Melbourne Cup.
Andrew Balding's four-year-old pushed top-class colt Stradivarius close when finishing second at York last week.
Balding was delighted with that performance in the Lonsdale Cup, which was the horse's first run since finishing third at Royal Ascot in June.
He will now head straight to Flemington on 6 November for the valuable Group 1, dubbed the 'race that stops a nation' in Australia.
Balding said: "He was really good at York and hopefully he will now go to the Melbourne Cup.
"As long as he gets a run he won't run anywhere else in between.
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"That was why he ran in the Lonsdale Cup rather than in the Ebor.
"He would have to have won the Ebor to get in, whereas he could have run well in the Lonsdale Cup and qualified.
"Which he did obviously, and in some style finishing as close to Stradivarius as that.
"It means we should get enough weight to get in it."