ROBBIE DOLAN ALL SET FOR THE CUP

By Graham Potter | Saturday, November 2, 2024

Robbie Dolan isn’t fazed by the $201 quote about the chances of his Melbourne Cup mount Knight’s Choice.

“I’ve never worried about prices before and I’m not going to start now,” said Dolan.

“He (Knight’s Choice) actually ran pretty well the other day in the Bendigo Cup. From barrier one he didn’t have a full, clear passage all the way from the 600m … and was probably unlucky not to run a place.

“The winner Sea King won well, but he had an uninterrupted run from the 700m. I would have liked to have got on his back, but we just got held up from the inside barrier behind slow horses and then I had to sort of change passage on him … so he would have finished closer.

“He was really strong to the line, and he didn’t have a gut-buster at Bendigo so he should be fresh and well for Tuesday.

“It’s probably not the greatest edition of the Melbourne Cup so you never know what is going to happen. The rest might just stand in the barriers and I’ll go around by myself,” quipped Dolan.

“But, no, he is not just going to make up the numbers. He’ll run a cheeky race.

“He loves a dry track. Obviously two miles is a question mark, but nobody knows till he tries it. I think he is right in the race. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Knight’s Choice is trained by Sheila Laxon and John Symons and is one of two runners (along with Mission Of Love) representing the stable in the Cup.

Laxon, of course, famously sent out Ethereal to complete a Caulfield Cup /Melbourne Cup double back in 2001, so it’s a case of ‘been there, done that’ for her … but how sweet a second Cup success would be all these twenty-three years later, and, if it is Knight’s Choice that salutes, you can bet it would have Robbie Dolan singing from the treetops.

Robbie Dolan