Wheeler upbeat ahead of cup
26 Oct 2016Pentathlon might be at long odds in the $A6 million Gr.1 Melbourne Cup, but John Wheeler’s confidence in the Goodwood Stud graduate is growing ahead of the Flemington feature.
The 50-1 shot has trimmed down with each of his Australian outings and further improvement is tipped from the Pentire five-year-old in Saturday’s Gr.2 Lexus Stakes, in which he will be ridden by Mark Du Plessis.
“He’s coming to his peak - I was behind the eight ball a bit when we first got here, he was a bit fat but I’ve got it right now,” Wheeler said.
“He’ll be really competitive on Saturday and Mark will ride him and in the Melbourne Cup, as long as he gets in.
“I thought he’d be in by now, but that made the decision easier to start him in the Lexus. I was tossing up whether to run him or not.”
Already a winner and Group placed at two miles, Pentathlon went to Melbourne off the back of two preparatory runs at Hawke’s Bay before he finished seventh earlier this month in the Gr.3 The Bart Cummings at Flemington.
The chestnut then ran third behind Grand Marshal and Who Shot Thebarman in Saturday’s Gr.2 Moonee Valley Cup.