DUCA Valentinois, the provincial cups specialist, can deliver the all-powerful Godolphin stable an elusive win in the Group 3 $200,000 Livamol Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) at the stand-alone meeting on Saturday.

Godolphin (formerly Darley) has enjoyed considerable success at the premier Hawkesbury raceday since it was introduced in 2006, winning feature races like the Guineas, Crown and Clarendon Stakes multiple times.

But trainer James Cummings is hoping to finally add the Hawkesbury Gold Cup to the mantelpiece with Duca Valentinois, a $6 chance in early TAB Fixed Odds betting behind Ecuador ($3.50).

Duca Valentinois, who began his race career in Ireland, found his niche in similar races last year, winning the Scone Cup and the Ladies’ Day Cup at Hawkesbury.

Cummings believes Duca Valentinois is working his way back to winning form after three runs from a spell that, although the gelding hasn’t managed a place, he’s been competitive each start, including his closing seventh to Cellarman in the Doncaster Prelude four weeks ago.

“The horse has enjoyed a bit of a gap between runs and we feel he is starting to get to his peak fitness now,” Cummings said. “He is tackling a local mile race that should be right up his alley. We should be going to the race with a nice amount of confidence that he is going to run well.”

Cummings also saddles-up Ghisoni in the Group 3 $175,000 Godolphin Crown (1300m) and stablemate Beau Geste contests the Group 3 $200,000 Blacktown Workers Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m).

Ghisoni resumed from a long spell with a sixth behind Quilista in the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick and Cummings is predicting the classy mare will make her presence felt on Saturday.

“It would be great race to win with a mare of her calibre,’’ the trainer said.

“She looks like she has thrived after the first up run in the Sapphire Stakes at Randwick and although she meets pretty talented mares like White Moss here second up, I think she can improve significantly enough to be very competitive in a suitable race.”

Beau Geste goes into the Hawkesbury Guineas after three runs from a spell including his last start sixth to Muraaqeb in the Carbine Club Stakes at Randwick.

Cummings believes Beau Geste is better suited coming back from the Randwick 1600m to 1400m at Hawkesbury.

“Not only is the colt going to be a little better suited at the shorter trip where he can just travel a little bit more comfortably, but he also tends to be a little more relaxed closer to home,’’ he said. “His trackwork was quite sharp and he looks ready to run a big race.’’

Cummings’s Godolphin stable is also chasing more feature-race success with talented Impending, who commences his last race campaign before being retired to stud in Saturday’s Group 2 $200,000 Victory Stakes (1200m) at Doomben.

Impending won the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap last year and Cummings is setting the four-year-old a similar big-race preparation in coming weeks.

“Impending showed he had a heap of speed in his gallop at Osborne Park on Tuesday morning,’’ Cummings said.

“He really looks set and ready to go first-up from a decent spell.

“We last saw him running beautifully against the best weight-for-age sprinters in the country in the Darley Classic (third to Redzel and Terravista) at the end of the spring in Melbourne.

“I think this is a really nice introduction to his preparation which is going to hold plenty of promise for the stable with a horse like him who has a little bit left to do before he retires to the breeding barn.”

WIDDUP CHASES HOMETOWN SUCCESS
Matt Jones

BRAD Widdup was a big part of Godolphin’s success at Hawkesbury stand-alone racedays over the years but he’s hoping to carve out his own reputation on Saturday with Lovani.

The four-year-old mare lines up in the $200,000 Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) and Godolphin’s former long-term foreman has his mare on song for the feature race.

“She’s been racing very well all preparation,” he said.

“It’s been a bit hard to place her and I think she’s better with cut in the ground, but she’s dropping 5.5kg from her win at Hawkesbury the other day. She’s fully fit now and she’s drawn well on her home track, so if she runs up to her best performance, she’ll run very well.”

Lovani comes off a solid win at Hawkesbury last start over 2000m and Widdup is using the proven formula of dropping back to 1600m.

Cummings believes Beau Geste is better suited coming back from the Randwick 1600m to 1400m at Hawkesbury.

“Not only is the colt going to be a little better suited at the shorter trip where he can just travel a little bit more comfortably, but he also tends to be a little more relaxed closer to home,’’ he said. “His trackwork was quite sharp and he looks ready to run a big race.’’

Cummings’s Godolphin stable is also chasing more feature-race success with talented Impending, who commences his last race campaign before being retired to stud in Saturday’s Group 2 $200,000 Victory Stakes (1200m) at Doomben.

Impending won the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap last year and Cummings is setting the four-year-old a similar big-race preparation in coming weeks.

“Impending showed he had a heap of speed in his gallop at Osborne Park on Tuesday morning,’’ Cummings said.

“He really looks set and ready to go first-up from a decent spell.

“We last saw him running beautifully against the best weight-for-age sprinters in the country in the Darley Classic (third to Redzel and Terravista) at the end of the spring in Melbourne.

“I think this is a really nice introduction to his preparation which is going to hold plenty of promise for the stable with a horse like him who has a little bit left to do before he retires to the breeding barn.”

Widdup said it was a good conditioning run and she only carries 53kg which brings her right into the race against the likes of Ecuador, Duca Valentinois and Mister Sea Wolf who are the leading contenders in the market.

“Everywhere you go, it’s very strong,” he said. “It’s been a very competitive autumn and it’s been a real learning curve for me as far as the sought of horse you have to have. It’s been tough. With the residual value of horses now, people are aiming their mares at black-type races and the professionalism of people with their horses has really lifted in Sydney.”

Lovani is a $15 fixed odds chance with the TAB and from barrier four Christian Reith will likely take sit behind Ecuador.

“She definitely likes an on-pace style of racing and she’s a very tough mare who I still haven’t found the bottom of,” Widdup said.

“The benefit with her is that she’s well-weighted and I’m sure she’s in the race to run well. I try not to run them in races they can’t run well in. if you go through the field, I think she’s more than capable.”

Prior to her win at Hawkesbury she ran second behind the promising Roman Sun over 1800m, who is set to start an odds-on favourite in the Provincial Stayer’s Handicap (2100m).

“She’s peaking for this,” Widdup said. “Roman Sun had to put in an incredible performance to beat her and she’s now back to a distance she’s performed well at. When I was at Godolphin we had some huge days at Hawkesbury so it will be good to see her do well.”